For an enterprise, the regional market manager is an important organizational unit in the marketing system, as specific marketing actions are basically executed through this link, making it the fundamental point of the enterprise's marketing system. Therefore, enhancing the capabilities of regional market managers is a crucial part of enterprise marketing. (1) The definition of a regional manager: a person who leads troops into battle. "War is a matter of vital importance to the state; the province of life or death, the road to survival or ruin, and must be examined with the greatest care." (2) Enterprises are like feudal states. The current market is in the Warring States period of marketing, where melee 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 very normal. (4) Viewing marketing from the perspective of war, marketing is a process of offense and defense. (5) Brand is the will of the people. Responsibilities of Regional Market Managers Reflection: Job standards are important, but what kind of job standards are needed to cultivate a qualified regional manager? Even with such standards, can a batch of qualified regional managers be trained? From a theoretical perspective, various versions of regional market manager job responsibilities have long existed, even detailed to specific industries or enterprises. However, when we seriously engage with these managers, we find that only a few can fully recite their responsibilities. Even if they can, the enterprise's job responsibilities are either incomplete or the standards do not match actual work. Standard Job Responsibilities for Regional Managers: (1) Execute the company's marketing strategy and plan regional market development. (2) Formulate the regional marketing plan 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 oversee the implementation of the marketing center's sales policies and various systems. (5) Control office expenses in the region and directly participate in and host negotiations and transactions with key clients. (6) Train and guide business personnel, evaluate subordinates' work, and assist in formulating and implementing performance improvement plans. Problems with the above job standards: (1) Although they are the enterprise's own job guidance standards, they are not targeted and are almost suitable for all FMCG industries. (2) These standards do not fully describe the actual work of regional managers. Most importantly: Job responsibilities only provide "daily work" guidance for regional managers, meaning they can only work for the sake of work, not provide help in actual combat, lacking practical operational guidance. The uncertainties in regional managers' actual combat vary with individual personality and market, making it impossible to set standards for each person. So how to solve this problem? Using the beer industry as a template, let's analyze the job responsibilities of regional managers from a practical perspective: (1) Marketing itself is an industry with a wide coverage, requiring generalists, and the industry changes rapidly. Even if we could accurately describe the work of regional managers, it would be very complex, boring, and not easy to remember. Moreover, to meet the needs of people with various comprehension levels, a high level of writing organization is required. (2) The biggest drawback of written standards is not whether they can be comprehensively described, 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. (3) The purpose of job standards is to guide action, thereby making the enterprise's marketing team aligned in goals and unified in action. (4) 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 link? When we look at the problem from a different angle, things become simple. Since the market is a battlefield, the marketing team is an army. Using military management ideas to regulate these "bandits" naturally simplifies things. In the enterprise marketing system, regional market managers are officers at various levels. The duty of "officers" is to lead troops into battle. The process of battle is the process of offense or defense. In other words: offense—expanding territory, defense—protecting the homeland. So what are the "troops" that regional managers lead? First, the direct troops. Including office (business department) directors, salespeople, promoters (stock clerks), and other "brothers." Second, the 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 territories, but they are suitable for logistics and transportation work. How can these "troops" be led well? (1) Set clear rules and follow up with assessments. Let them (especially the mercenaries) eat, and even drink and eat meat when conditions allow, but only on the basis of doing the work well (follow-up assessment). An army that cannot even eat cannot be led, unless the whole world is starving. (2) The way to govern the army is to have fair rewards and punishments! Employees do not do what is hoped but what is assessed. Assessments must be linked to benefits, and the same applies to mercenaries. When they get "cash," they must understand where it comes from, that is, their income is proportional to their efforts. Assessments 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, you must keep your promises and not rely on "hype." (3) Strict military discipline, teach first, then kill! After clarifying military discipline, continuously train and inform. For those who knowingly violate the law, execute them in front of the whole army. However, military discipline should not be too harsh; individual skill-related minor mistakes can be ignored, as long as training is followed up. (4) Appropriate elimination. The camp is made of iron, but soldiers flow like water. New soldiers have inherent advantages in execution over veterans. Continuously infuse fresh blood to improve the execution of the entire army! (5) Expansion must have a "limit." Enterprise development and management development must be synchronized. If "expansion" is too fast, it will cause a disconnect in management or capital. The 3rd (CFIC) China FMCG + Internet Conference will be held in Chongqing in November 2017. The conference will closely focus on the theme "New Forces, New Ecology," inviting 1000+ distributors, 500+ brand owners, 200+ B2B platform founders, and 100+ investment and financing institutions to jointly explore a new chapter of cross-border integration! Core topics of this conference:
How can the FMCG industry leverage B2B to achieve new growth opportunities?
How should the new supply chain behind new retail be built?
How can intra-city logistics help B2B achieve leapfrog development?
Highlights of this conference:
The industry's first "2017 China FMCG B2B Industry Competitiveness White Paper"
Case sharing of excellent distributors who have transformed and upgraded
Conference + exhibition upgrade, with Hall 6 Internet Technology Exhibition strengthening connections
Leaders from well-known enterprises in various fields, including Alibaba Retail Link, GL Capital, Eternal Asia Supply Chain, Best Store Plus, Yijiupi, and Haiding, will deliver speeches and share pioneering views.
Registration is now open. Long press the QR code below or click "Read Original" to register. Early bird tickets before September 17 enjoy a 30% discount! Add friend with note "Conference Registration" Click the links below to review the highlights of the first and second FMCG + Internet conferences: 2016 "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum 2017 (2nd) China FMCG + Internet Conference Click the links below to review the highlights of the first and second FMCG + Internet conferences: 2016 "FMCG + Internet" Summit Forum -END-