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Preface

  1. Definition of a regional manager: a person who leads troops into battle. "War is a matter of vital importance to the state; it is the ground of death and life, the path of survival and destruction, and must be examined with great care."

  2. Enterprises are like feudal states, and the current market is in a period of Warring States marketing. Chaos is the theme, and industry concentration is the goal.

  3. The goal of war is peace. When industry concentration reaches a certain level, marketing begins to weaken. Downsizing during peacetime is normal.

  4. Viewing marketing from the perspective of war, marketing is a process of attack and defense.

  5. Brand is the will of the people.

Reflection: "Engage with the orthodox, win with the unconventional; uphold the orthodox and employ the unconventional."

"Orthodox" refers to leading troops (management), while "unconventional" refers to fighting (marketing tactics).

For an enterprise, the regional market manager is an important organizational unit in the marketing system. The specific actions of corporate marketing are basically executed through this level, making it the fundamental point of the marketing system. Enhancing the capabilities of regional market managers is a crucial part of corporate marketing. This article systematically describes how regional managers operate in the market.

I. Responsibilities of a Regional Market Manager

Reflection: Job standards are important, but what kind of job standards are needed to cultivate a qualified regional manager? Even if such standards exist, can they produce a batch of qualified regional managers?

From a theoretical perspective, various versions of regional market manager job responsibilities have long existed, even detailed for specific industries or companies. However, when we actually engage with these managers, we find that few can fully recite their responsibilities. Even if they can, we discover that the job responsibilities are either incomplete or the standards do not align with actual work.

For example, a job responsibility standard for a regional manager in the instant food industry:

  1. Execute the company's marketing strategy and plan regional market development;
  2. Formulate regional marketing plans and break down sales targets;
  3. Provide accurate information on market trends, demand changes, competitors, and customer feedback;
  4. Supervise the construction of offices and business development, ensure the collection of regional payments, and implement the sales policies and systems of the marketing center;
  5. Control office expenses in the region, directly participate in and lead important client negotiations and transactions;
  6. Train and guide sales personnel, evaluate subordinates' work, and assist in developing and implementing performance improvement plans.

Problems with the above job standards:

  1. Although they are the company's own guidance standards, they are not targeted and are almost applicable to all FMCG industries.
  2. These standards do not fully depict the actual work of a regional manager.

The most important issue is that job responsibilities only provide "daily work" guidance for regional managers, meaning they only work for the sake of work, without providing help in actual combat and lacking practical operational guidance. Moreover, the uncertainties in regional managers' actual combat vary with individual personality and market conditions, making it impossible to set standards for each person.

So how to solve this problem? Let's use the food industry as a template and analyze the responsibilities of a regional manager from a practical perspective:

First, marketing itself is an industry with a wide coverage, requiring generalists. Moreover, the industry changes rapidly. Even if we could accurately describe the work of regional managers, it would be complex, boring, and hard to remember. Additionally, to meet the needs of people with various comprehension levels, a high level of writing organization is required.

Second, the biggest drawback of written standards is not whether they can comprehensively describe, but whether they can ensure accurate execution. The large amount of information in marketing work makes standards complex, and complex standards easily lead to "routine compliance" in execution, eventually turning these so-called standards into waste paper.

Third, the purpose of job standards is to guide action, thereby aligning the goals and unifying the actions of the corporate marketing team.

Fourth, marketing work is carried out in a dynamic, uncertain time and space. Many people in this industry feel a sense of freedom. In actual contact, many marketing executives lament: "These guys are impossible to lead; they are simply a bunch of bandits." The biggest characteristic of bandits is that they dislike too many rules and regulations.

So, can enterprises bypass this level?

When we look at the problem from a different angle, things become simpler.

Since the market is a battlefield, the marketing team is an army. Using the military management approach to regulate these "bandits" naturally simplifies things.

In the corporate marketing system, regional market managers are officers at various levels. The responsibility of "officers" is nothing more than leading troops into battle. The process of battle is the process of attack or defense. In other words: attack—expand territory; defend—protect the homeland. So what troops do regional managers lead?

First: Direct troops. This includes office (sales department) directors, salespeople, promoters (stock clerks), and other "brothers."

Second: Mercenaries. Channel members include first-tier distributors, second-tier distributors, and even terminals. They are called mercenaries because they have no blood relationship with the enterprise. Compared to the former, they have weaker combat effectiveness, loose discipline, and lack the ability to conquer territory, but they are suitable for logistics and transportation work.

How to lead these "troops" well?

First: Establish rules and follow up with assessments. Let them (especially mercenaries) eat, and even drink and eat meat when conditions allow, but only on the basis of doing the job well (assessment follow-up). An army that cannot even eat cannot be led, unless the whole world is starving.

Second: The way to govern the army is to reward and punish appropriately! Employees do not do what they hope for, but what is assessed. Assessment must be linked to interests, and the same applies to mercenaries. When they get "cash," they must understand the origin of the cash, that is, their income is proportional to their efforts. Assessment should focus on long-term "cash" security, making mercenaries understand that as long as they take the hill, there will be wine, meat, and cash. To do this, promises must be kept, not "fooled."

Third: Strict military discipline, teach first, then kill! After clarifying military discipline, continuously train and inform. Those who knowingly violate the law should be executed as an example to the whole army. However, military discipline should not be too harsh; minor skill-related mistakes can be ignored, as long as follow-up training is provided.

Fourth: Appropriate elimination. "Iron camps, flowing soldiers." New soldiers have inherent advantages in execution compared to veterans. Continuously infuse fresh blood to build the execution capability of the entire army!

Fifth: Expansion must have "limits." Enterprise development and management development must be synchronized. If "expansion" is too fast, it will cause disconnection in management or capital.

There is a similar case in the food industry: the once-popular "Wugu Daochang" (Five Grain Dao Chang) faced a collective "wage protest" in various branches and a wave of channel members collectively demanding payment due to rapid expansion and insufficient supplies, leading to a desperate situation.

II. Regional Manager Market Development

Reflection: "Those skilled in defense hide in the depths of the earth; those skilled in attack move from the heights of heaven."

For an enterprise to develop and grow, it must have strong market development capabilities. Regional managers' market development has almost become a required course. How to do the "attack" well?

First, let's look at the troubles from some frontline regional managers in attack:

  1. Hesitating when facing the market to attack, not knowing which "city gate" to attack.
  2. The market is hard to conquer, and expenses become a bottomless pit.
  3. Year after year of investment, blooming every year but bearing no fruit.
  4. In a multi-brand competitive market, defeating one competitor only to have another emerge. While busy, competitors often create an "unkillable" myth in local markets!

These problems are mostly caused by being brave but not wise, rushing into battle unprepared, and being confused.

Therefore, before attacking, regional managers must master the following principles:

  1. Plan "momentum." Momentum refers to the competitive situation of similar brands in the entire market and trends affecting the consumer market. For example, in the food industry, changes in taste, consumption habits, and consumption upgrades.
  2. Plan "situation." The choice of entry point in the local market determines the success or failure of the "campaign." For example, whether to attack from top-down or use rural areas to encircle cities; "setting the situation" must be firm and accurate!
  3. Plan "rules." Every market has a leading brand. For example, in the instant noodle market, Master Kong's Braised Beef Noodles is the first brand in the high-price segment, whether cup or bag. This brand almost determines some "rules" in the market, such as terminal prices and promotion methods. Regional managers must make accurate choices on whether to follow, break, or re-establish these rules!

So, how can regional managers do the "planning" well?

Plan before acting—first "plan" yourself, then "plan" the opponent.

A. How to "plan" yourself first?

  1. Must set a clear combat goal and obtain support from the company's strategic resources.
  2. Unify the opinions of subordinate troops and boost their morale.
  3. Understand whether your product is suitable for the attack market.
  4. Choose the right "vanguard" and prepare enough troops and ammunition for him.
  5. Develop a complete reward and punishment system and timetable, personally supervise the battle, and coordinate the company's various friendly forces (such as vehicles, personnel, visual merchandising props, product samples, etc.)

B. How to "plan" the opponent?

  1. Allow sufficient time for market research and data collection. Mainly include: opponent's product structure, channel members, profit distribution, promotion methods, mainstream terminal control models, etc. During data collection, subordinates can conduct sample visits using fixed forms and samples. Regional managers must set aside dedicated time to visit the market personally, and follow up on reports with random checks. Criticize those with inaccurate information, and show no mercy to those who fabricate!
  2. Organize subordinates for simulation exercises based on relevant information. The key is to analyze the opponent's "troop deployment," find weaknesses and strengths, and compare with your own products and resources, continuously improving and compensating. Also, find your "vanguard" during the exercises.
  3. "Capture prisoners." With the development of the market economy, job-hopping has become fashionable. If you can capture the opponent's top regional commander, the gains will be greater, and it might even lead to the opponent's collapse without a fight. However, this is not easy. Consider capturing a veteran to your side, and after "squeezing" him dry, give him a gun to fight as a guide. Of course, this seems "unethical." If you are an "honest" person, you may not consider doing this.

Once these preparations are complete, you can consider entering the attack state.

  1. Choose the right attack season. Products generally have peak and off seasons. If you attack in the off season, there may be poor distribution and morale damage. Generally, prepare in the off season and attack about a month before the peak season for better results.
  2. Based on the opponent's weaknesses, formulate a battle plan and communicate it up and down to ensure unity of purpose. While clarifying attack steps, establish combat principles, such as: blitzkrieg, war of attrition, war of position, or siege warfare...
  3. Timely grasp the progress of the battle. In the early stage, focus on distribution rate assessment. Based on the customer's vehicles, personnel, and capital, assess whether the distributor's delivery capability is supported. Set distributor delivery areas and standards, "cook according to the rice," and timely choose distribution layout to ensure smooth channels while minimizing terminal service complaints! While mastering your own data, also analyze changes in opponent data, predict the opponent's moves as much as possible, and block them in time.
  4. Reasonably use your own resources. While planning expenditures, fully understand the essence of "Tian Ji's horse racing," play to strengths and avoid weaknesses. During the attack phase, avoid outdated tactics like "flooding the market" or "parallel advancement." Concentrate resources on the opponent's soft spots, focus the attack, and tear open the market like a dagger.
  5. Several principles during the attack:
  6. "Do something, don't do something." Not every market can be attacked. For example, when the distance from home base is too far, the transportation radius is too large, and the enterprise cannot set up a branch factory, even if the opponent has loopholes, learn to "give up." Otherwise, after huge expenditures, even if you take the market, you will retreat without a fight!
  7. "Know yourself and know your enemy." The biggest consequence of blind attack is a huge waste of resources. The purpose of marketing is to maximize corporate resources; waste is a desecration of marketing!
  8. "Uphold the orthodox and employ the unconventional." The orthodox, for an enterprise, is resource plundering and accumulation. That is, any "war" has a purpose. There are few "losing money for applause" things in the world. The purpose of corporate marketing is profit. The enterprise can accept stage-by-stage "loss-leading promotions," but once it falls into a long-term "promotion quagmire," the market will collapse without a fight. The unconventional is the marketing behavior adopted by the enterprise to achieve the above goals. The purpose of marketing is to maintain the survival and development of the enterprise.
  9. "Go for the kill." Once you launch an attack against a competitor, every move must draw blood, even "finish off" the opponent! Try to avoid "war of position" during the attack; otherwise, there will be a war of attrition where "you lose 800 to kill 1,000." For competitors of similar strength, the goal of attacking in a local market is to lock in the "first brand" position and seize the right to set market rules!

III. Regional Manager Market Defense

In any war, there is no scene of only attacking without defending. The same is true for marketing. An enterprise can only think of ways to "defeat" others by first standing undefeated. A good regional manager must have the ability to "defend and counterattack." When a local market is attacked by competitors, the regional manager must strategize and "make the enemy vanish with a wave of the hand."

  1. Clarify the nature of the attacked market. If it is the enterprise's base market, then it must be given high strategic and tactical attention, just like the enemy has stepped into the territory and approached the capital, a life-and-death battle is inevitable!
  2. Try to understand the enemy's intentions, troop deployment, and formation. If the opponent is a "big guy," then understand the opponent's product structure, personnel allocation, and even the commander's personality. If the opponent relies on distributors for channel warfare, then while fully analyzing the profit comparison of both channels, assess the stability of your own channel. If the opponent uses deep distribution tactics, then pay attention to the following three aspects: A. The degree of control over the market's commanding heights. B. The execution capability of your personnel compared to the competitor's forces. C. The composition of the opponent's sales personnel. Because in many food industries, "deep distribution" and "channel refinement" are already skillfully used. In this system, the enterprise's branch offices are the nerve center, and distributors are merely "delivery men" or "porters." Once the "nervous system" has problems, the entire army may collapse. There is much to do in disrupting the opponent's "nervous system," after all, it is defending the homeland at your own doorstep.
  3. "Orthodox" defense, "unconventional" attack. In defense, the ability to counter moves is essential. At the same time, you must have some "miraculous calculations." For example, fully utilize the advantages of the base market. When the opponent lays out an attack in the off season, appropriately retreat, lure the opponent to ship goods in a short time, then suddenly strike, block the channel, and suppress the competitor's terminal shipments to the lowest point until large-scale expiration and returns occur. The key is to force the competitor's channel funds to be occupied on a large scale, profits to be damaged, morale to be greatly reduced, and thereby shock the entire channel industry, making them dare not take over for a long time.
  4. Accurate blocking. In reality, many regional managers have experienced the story of "the wolf is coming," especially with the loudest cries from distributors. If you cry wolf too often, people become tired. Therefore, to accurately detect the wolf's tracks, a standard early warning system must be established: such as regular monitoring of competitor sales personnel numbers, outlet numbers, product mix, and visual merchandising indicators. At the same time, prepare a mature market emergency plan. Once the early warning system alarms, act immediately. Blocking methods should be "short, flat, and fast," blocking the competitor outside the defense line in the shortest time, at least defeating the opponent in "morale." Strive to end the battle quickly, concentrate superior forces, and annihilate the opponent. After all, the war is burning at your own doorstep, and you suffer the most.
  5. Pay attention to brand aging, timely product upgrades, or adding new products to supplement the product line. While enriching your brand, do not leave opportunities for the opponent.

When understanding that a regional manager is a person who leads troops into battle, not only will regional managers understand their job responsibilities, but enterprises will also understand the standard of a good regional manager: not only can they fight, but they can also lead troops.

IV. What is an Invincible Army?

Reflection: In the ups and downs of the business world, how many heroes have fallen! But where did they "die prematurely"? Was the army not strong, the equipment not good, or...

In today's increasingly mature competition, the era of lone heroes has passed. The history of relying on one or two golden salespeople to support an enterprise is increasingly distant. The basic components of a corporate marketing system are iron discipline + iron army. As for brand, it is nothing more than the enterprise's political slogan + political behavior (corporate strategy, product appeal, and market performance). To be precise, it is the will of the people! For example, an instant food product that cannot even pass hygiene standards and is short-weighted will inevitably fail even with the most beautiful advertisements and the most advanced marketing, because the "will of the people" in the consumer market does not support it!

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