During dealer visits, we often hear complaints: "Products reach the terminal, promotions are launched, but they just don't sell." In the past, products displayed in supermarkets with large displays and eye-catching promotions attracted consumers. Now, even if promotions start with a bang, sell-through is dismal, even for products from major manufacturers. Often, the product isn't the issue; you'll find that key competitors sell well. In such cases, a major reason for poor sell-through is the wrong operational sequence.

Wrong Sequence Leads to Futile Results

In the FMCG industry, the well-known trio is "distribution, display, and merchandising." Most dealers first distribute products to terminals, secure display positions, expand display areas, attach price tags and other materials, then wait for sell-through. If sell-through is poor, they blame the product or insufficient promotion...

1. The More Coverage, the Faster You Die

"This year, the company requires us to push Product A, offering terminal bundle promotions. Coverage went smoothly, but sell-through is unsatisfactory. Now many stores are unwilling to stock this product again," complained a dealer for a major beverage manufacturer. Many companies' products lack market operation rhythm. They demand large-scale distribution from the start, resulting in piles of near-expiry products. Dealers are busy collecting and handling these, and even if the company covers costs, most terminals lose confidence, making secondary orders difficult. This pressure transmits to dealers, salespeople, and even middle and senior management. Gradually, the product is abandoned and left to fend for itself. Distribution is a bridge connecting products to consumers, but it's not the decisive factor in purchase.

2. Promotions Can't Solve Sustained Sell-Through

A major beer manufacturer launched a mid-to-high-end product in 2021, which is now in a half-dead state. Market visits revealed that in the first year, the company had high expectations and offered strong promotional policies, which terminals and consumers readily accepted. The campaign lasted a year, and sales grew rapidly. In the second year, when the company reduced promotional intensity, many terminals refused to stock, and consumers preferred competitors over this product. Despite subsequent efforts and various promotional tactics, market performance was disappointing, and it was overtaken or even left behind by same-tier competitors. Now, the product is lukewarm, and it's hard to find in many markets. Countless facts prove that once consumers get used to promotional prices, they'll abandon the product when prices return to normal. Consumers attracted by promotions will eventually abandon the product because of promotions. For example, a certain milk brand that runs long-term promotions leads consumers to believe the product is only worth the promotional price. If sold at the original price, it results in "no promotion, no sales," severely limiting future growth. The ultimate goal is sustained sell-through. Coverage, display, promotion, and marketing are just links in the sell-through chain, not the root cause of sustained sell-through.

Awareness First, Then Purchase

Would you buy a product you don't know? Even if there's a promotion, most people wouldn't. Many companies launch promotions immediately, which actually reduces consumers' perception of the product's value, making them think it's not worth the original price. Consumers' purchase logic is: awareness first, then purchase. Consumers must first accept the product psychologically before making a physical purchase. Recognition of product value is the intrinsic driver of purchase.

I. Awareness Drives Purchase; Awareness Advantage Drives Choice

In the past, making consumers aware that your product meets their needs was enough to drive purchase. Today, consumers face an abundance of similar products. Many products can meet the same need, so mere awareness isn't enough. Everyone claims their product is good, and consumers are overwhelmed by choices. Only an awareness advantage can drive choice. Building an awareness advantage is the primary driver of sustained sell-through. This advantage must be consumer-centric, not company-centric. Companies often believe their product has great advantages, but consumers may not see it that way. Because consumers buy daily necessities—tea, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar—across many categories and brands, they lack the time or energy to learn about every category and brand.

II. How to Build an Awareness Advantage?

1. Find the value point to communicate with consumers and say it loudly in plain language. What is your product's advantage over competitors? You must say it and make consumers remember it first. Even if competitors have the same feature, if you're the first to make consumers remember it, you gain the awareness advantage. Before Jane's Yogurt, there were similar products, but they didn't loudly state their advantages. Jane's loudly proclaimed "Raw milk, lactic acid bacteria, sucrose, nothing else," giving it an awareness advantage and rapid growth to a multi-billion-yuan low-temperature yogurt brand. So, you must loudly state your product's value point. The result is completely different when the product says it versus when consumers have to discover it themselves. Products that align with market trends can achieve some sales without stating their value, but once they loudly state it and consumers know, it drives purchases and releases greater sales. Before Wanglaoji shouted "Afraid of getting heaty? Drink Wanglaoji," annual sales hovered around 100 million yuan. Before Genki Forest sparkling water shouted "0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calories," annual sales had reached 1 billion yuan. But after they shouted, sales grew exponentially. It's worth noting that many products focus on the product itself and neglect consumer communication. Spending more money isn't useless, but it's inefficient. The same product, with highlighted core value, easy-to-understand content, and alignment with consumer needs, is easier for consumers to perceive and accept.

2. Efficiently execute and continuously penetrate around the product's advantage.

Of course, building an awareness advantage isn't just about online advertising slogans. All successful brands also have a simple, effective, and mature market play at the terminal, centered on the product's advantage, allowing consumers to truly perceive and recognize it. Why simple? Because complex actions can't be fully replicated, preventing rapid development across markets. Only a few salespeople can execute complex tasks, but for brand-wide development, market plays must be simplified so almost all salespeople can understand and execute them. During Feihe's rapid growth years, they held 500,000 mini shows annually, with one promoter organizing a single event. During interactions, they introduced Feihe products and milk sources, helping target consumers recognize Feihe's advantage of "more suitable for Chinese babies." Back then, Ambrosial yogurt grew rapidly, promoting the advantage of "thick and delicious." Besides online promotion, they regularly conducted tasting events in major stores on weekends and holidays, letting consumers truly experience the product's richness and taste. At the time, a survey of Ambrosial buyers found common feedback: "It's thicker than other yogurts, tastes good, and my kids love it." Of course, health awareness is common for yogurt as a category, but thickness and taste were Ambrosial's awareness advantage over other yogurts. Nongfu Spring, in its early days of grabbing market share, had salespeople use pH test strips at terminals to demonstrate that Nongfu Spring was weakly alkaline while Wahaha was weakly acidic, claiming alkaline water is healthier than acidic water, aiming to promote Nongfu Spring as healthier than Wahaha. The pH test strip experiment is simple, low-cost, and quick, and all salespeople can do it, enabling large-scale implementation and quickly building an awareness advantage at the terminal level. In marketing, perception is reality.

With an Awareness Advantage, Your Execution Becomes More Effective

With an awareness advantage, consumers have an intrinsic drive for your product. Then, when you distribute, secure displays, and run promotions, the results are better. Yanjing U8 has grown rapidly in recent years. Its terminal approach is simple: focus on large blank restaurants, offer free samples on first entry, then deploy promoters, secure freezer displays, pitch to consumers, and give two free bottles per table. All markets use this method for rapid growth, but the prerequisite is Yanjing U8's high online visibility, supported by offline promotional materials, to build an awareness advantage. Competitors imitated its methods but saw poor sell-through, mainly because they hadn't built an awareness advantage in consumers' minds. With the awareness of "Tired and sleepy? Drink Dongpeng Special Drink" deeply rooted, in the past two years, Dongpeng Special Drink has achieved over 30% compound annual growth rate in sales simply by securing displays and running promotions (buy one, get one for 1 yuan) at the terminal. Many say Dongpeng's "add 1 yuan for exchange" campaign is excellent, enabling rapid growth. Actually, Dongpeng's coconut water uses the same tactic, but the effect is less obvious because Dongpeng's coconut water hasn't built an awareness advantage in consumers' minds compared to key competitors. "Hydrate" and "Liangbai Kai" follow the same logic: the product names easily evoke their value and are easy to understand, making it easier to build an awareness advantage compared to similar products. These products do little at the terminal—just routine distribution and display—and still achieve good growth.

Final Thoughts

In the FMCG industry, competition among products is intensifying. Only products that build an awareness advantage in consumers' minds can stand out. Building an awareness advantage is a continuous process, not a one-time effort. Start from consumers, be competition-oriented, design communication content that resonates, stay close to consumers, and communicate continuously in their language. Building an awareness advantage doesn't mean waiting until it's established before pushing distribution and display; rather, it should guide and run through every aspect of product operations. Whoever captures the mind first will sell through first; whoever makes consumers remember actively will truly move the product. Therefore, this year, we especially want to discuss this topic more deeply: Start from user awareness and move toward the C-end. In March 2026, "New Distribution" will host the 11th China FMCG Conference and the 6th China FMCG Distribution and Retail Conference under the theme "Advancing Toward the C-End"! If you agree that "mindshare leadership is more important than product arrival," and if you're looking for the next round of sell-through methods, feel free to scan the QR code for conference details. Let's truly sell products, not just distribute them! Ticket inquiries: Zhuang Jiting