After 2013, the product logic changed, including both new product development and promotion logic. Why 2013? Because that year, industry sales peaked, shifting from quantity growth to quality growth, and China truly entered a middle-class society. In a middle-class society, consumer psychology changed. One key change is that all products are first psychological products. When products have similar functions, demand shifts to psychological satisfaction. Mass psychological products generally follow fashion trends. Starting from a niche, igniting through communication, and spreading to the masses. This is the law of fashion trends. 1. Before 2013, the FMCG industry was in an era of quantity growth. In the quantity growth era, although there was consumption structure, overall consumption was at the bottom of mass consumption. I call it 'dual-low products': quality at the bottom line, price at the bottom. In 2014, almost all FMCG industries began to move up their price bands. For example, from 2013 to 2017, beer sales volume dropped 11%, but sales revenue increased 21%. The upward shift of price bands is not a collective move of all products, but a lengthening of the price band. For example, bottled water was originally in the 1 yuan and 2 yuan price bands, but now it has lengthened to coexist at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 yuan. Higher prices exist but with relatively small sales volumes. Now, the 2 yuan price band is mass demand, while 3, 4, and 5 yuan are not yet mass demand. If it's not mass demand, large-scale distribution will definitely cause sales problems. I have always criticized Evergrande Spring Water. Its original 4 yuan price band should not have been widely distributed. Unfortunately, at that time, the entire Chinese marketing community was immersed in the traditional distribution model of 'distribution + promotion'. It can even be said that many good upgraded products died this way. 2. Let's review the scenario of new product promotion under the traditional deep distribution model. Whether new products do brand advertising is one thing, but 'distribution + promotion' is a necessary task. At that time, the 'Eight-Step Terminal Visit Method' was popular, considered the bible of deep distribution. What does assessing distribution rate mean? It means that even new products are mass-priced and mass products. Otherwise, they cannot be widely distributed. Promotion means sell-through. What does that mean? It means consumers are quite sensitive to promotional policies (actually disguised price policies), with a prominent 'getting a bargain' psychology. Restoring the scene at that time: as long as you put mass products in front of consumers (distribution), supplemented by price policies (getting a bargain), they would sell through. Does this scene still exist now? If the traditional scene no longer exists, what should we do? 3. There are two products that, although upgraded, have done relatively well. One is Tang Daren. Launched in 2008, its price band was around 7 yuan, double the mainstream price band at the time. If such a product had followed the model of large-scale distribution + promotion, it would have died long ago. At that time, Tang Daren could only be sold in special channels, and it sold quite well. By 2015, when the instant noodle price band moved up significantly, Tang Daren suddenly became popular and moved to mass channels, so distribution rate could be discussed. Another product is Baishuishan, with a price band of 3 yuan. Even now, 3 yuan is not the mainstream price band. A few years ago, how did 3 yuan bottled water survive? Of course, it couldn't be widely distributed; it could only find special channels, such as high-speed rail stations, or distribute in first-tier cities. 4. Now, promoting new products faces a dilemma. If it's a traditional mainstream price band, although there may be sales, the track is crowded, and it's hard for new products to squeeze in. Even with high distribution rate, sell-through is difficult because the era of promotion meaning sell-through is over. If it's not a mainstream price band, then large-scale distribution is definitely not possible, and sell-through is also difficult. Even if it sells through, sales volume is small, and you must wait. Now, new product promotion seems to be only strategic promotion. It's impossible to achieve volume immediately. Strategic promotion means first laying out, first occupying a position in the price band, first doing special channels. Then wait for the price band to gradually move up, and the non-mainstream price band becomes the mainstream price band. Without patience, new product promotion is hard to succeed. 5. The new strategic promotion model, I summarize in three sentences. 'Starting from a niche, igniting through communication, and harvesting from the masses.' This can also be seen as the three steps of new product promotion. Strategic new products, of course, first need layout. How to layout? First, regional layout. From the price band perspective, it must be higher than the mainstream price band. Different cities have different price bands, so regional layout is needed. For example, 4 yuan bottled water is close to the mainstream price band in first-tier cities and can be widely distributed. Second, channel layout. Channel layout is also consumer group layout. In the same city, different channels have different acceptance levels for prices. Similarly, 4 yuan bottled water in second, third, and fourth-tier cities can only be distributed in special channels. Special regions, special cities, actually target the niche. Strategic new product promotion must have niche awareness. Niche awareness means not pursuing everyone's satisfaction, but pursuing the first choice of a few, cultivating enthusiasts and fans among a small group. 6. In the past, new product development had to pursue the greatest common divisor of society. If new product promotion seeks the greatest common divisor, the product becomes mediocre. If a product is considered 'not bad' by everyone, it may fail. This is not only related to the product but also to the Internet era. In the Internet era, the people with the most communication energy are not those with the most spending power, but those who are relatively paranoid. Relatively paranoid people hold the discourse power in the Internet era. Igniting communication is not about everyone accepting it, but about a few people preferring it. Enthusiasts and fans have the most communication energy. Don't overestimate consumers' insistence on individual needs; most people will give up their individuality under environmental influence and be guided by those who insist most on their individuality. Under communication energy, the masses will follow the crowd. Fashion, in fact, is the masses following the niche. 7. In the traditional marketing era, whose voice was the loudest? Who had the most communication energy? Teacher Shi Wei said that traditional communication was just 'loudspeakers' shouting, like on CCTV. Who has the most communication energy? Whoever has the most money and dares to bet on communication has the most energy. At that time, communication was about repetition and strengthening memory. Repeat until you can't forget it even if you want to. In the Internet era, who has the most communication energy? No extremes, no communication; no paranoia, no communication; no fans, no communication. Except for central figures like Ma Yun who still have communication energy, it's hard to gather communication energy by throwing money. Discover those niche groups with communication energy, satisfy their individual needs, and trigger mass attention. The masses are not persuaded; the masses are conquered. 8. Some niches are just niches and cannot be extended. Some niches can be transformed into the masses. Some niches can be extended to the masses. Fashion is the transformation between niche and mass. Starting from a niche actually aims at the masses. Starting from a niche, gaining preference, harvesting fans. Through the niche, gathering communication energy is the transition. The ultimate goal is to conquer the masses through communication. Source: Teacher Liu's Forum (ID: liuchunxiong1964)