Small terminals typically refer to B and C class stores, community convenience stores, roadside or street-side shops, and other small and medium retail terminals that are small in scale, low in sales volume, and have relatively limited capital. These terminals are also characterized by high dispersion, numerous individual stores, and small one-time purchases. Due to these characteristics, managing and operating small terminals is often exceptionally tedious and complex. If not properly managed, issues such as store desertion, bad debts, and reselling competing products can frequently arise, which are detrimental to long-term operations. Therefore, when small terminals become the "hot commodity" commonly favored by small and medium brand enterprises, how to effectively control these "scattered" small terminals to make them obey the manufacturer's management and remain loyal to the manufacturer becomes the focus of attention for many manufacturers that are "enamored" with small and medium terminals. So, how can small and medium enterprises effectively manage these small retail terminals when their brand strength is not very strong?
In my view, today, as the "threshold" for large retail terminals is increasingly raised, small and medium brand enterprises, due to their brand resources and enterprise scale being insufficient to support operating large retail terminals, and thus unable to directly "fight" with big brands in mainstream channels, should adopt channel sinking, refined management, and differentiated operation models to implement resource concentration. This should become the strategic direction and focus for small and medium enterprises.
However, small and medium terminals also have the characteristics of wide coverage and relatively high gross margins, as well as simple development procedures and ease of communication. Therefore, in today's increasingly fierce competition for small retail terminals, small and medium brand enterprises must possess their own set of small terminal management and operation systems. In terms of strategies and techniques for controlling small terminals, I believe that emotion, interests, norms, and strategies should run through them, and not one can be missing. This is also the main line for small and medium enterprises to compete for small terminals. Only by achieving these four points can small and medium brand enterprises achieve "four-wheel drive" and "a single spark can start a prairie fire," thereby gaining the initiative and winning power in competing for terminals.
Emotion: The "Door Knocker" to Enter Small Terminals
Small and medium enterprises, due to their weak brand strength and insufficient terminal pull, must "step out of the business circle," "make friends first," and "then talk business" to win the favor and affection of small terminals. This is what public relations expert Wang Li calls "doing business without talking business." Only when small and medium enterprises establish good customer relationships with small terminal operators and have an emotional foundation can their deep cooperation proceed more smoothly, and products can be introduced smoothly, thereby gaining a favorable market competitive position.
So, since emotion is the most simple quality of human beings and an effective way for small and medium brand products to enter small terminals, how can emotion become the "door knocker" to enter small terminals?
In my years of experience operating small terminals, the ways to establish emotional connections with small terminals generally include the following: 1. Establish the manufacturer's own good image and build trust with terminal customers. That is, small and medium brand manufacturers should improve the comprehensive quality and good cultivation of terminal sales representatives through systematic training. Through the terminal sales representative, who is the "window" of "zero-distance" contact with small terminals, they can better display the manufacturer's good spirit and appearance, thereby giving small terminals a better first impression and making them accept and identify with the manufacturer from the inside. For example, Xueyang Company, which has made a splash in Zhengzhou's small terminals with its "Xia Shuang" purified water in recent years, conducts unified training for terminal sales representatives every year on knowledge and skills such as public relations etiquette, dressing skills, psychology, and marketing strategies, to achieve good communication with customers. 2. Strive to become "relatives" with small terminal customers. That is, small and medium enterprises should train and guide terminal sales personnel to be good at "addressing people" or "calling people," that is, to be good at speaking, knowing "what song to sing on what mountain; what to say to whom." For example, during customer visits, terminal sales representatives should be able to give appropriate titles based on the customer's gender and age, thereby psychologically shortening the distance between the manufacturer and the terminal operator. This is what we usually call being diligent in speech. 3. Act according to circumstances and be diligent in legs. That is, train terminal sales personnel to act according to circumstances and be quick with their hands and feet when patrolling or visiting terminals. For example, when seeing that the customer is busy with business, they should seize the opportunity to "lend a hand" and help, thereby winning the trust and favor of the terminal operator. 4. Observe expressions and be diligent in "heart and mind." That is, small and medium brand manufacturers should require business personnel to establish detailed terminal operator files based on the development and operation stages of small terminals, including store name, owner name, address, phone number, business direction and years, specialties and hobbies, etc., and based on the classification of customers A, B, C (core, key, general terminals), give visits of different cycles and times, and at appropriate times and occasions, make appropriate "moves." For example, when the terminal operator's family has special events, they should be able to "act when it's time to act," giving appropriate care and greetings.
Big brands often operate more aggressively, relying on brand pull to control small terminals. Small and medium enterprises, lacking many brand advantages, should therefore put more effort into emotional communication and exchange with customers when expanding small terminals. Only by paying attention to the details of terminal operations and doing these details well and thoroughly can small and medium enterprises achieve the subtle effect of "a winding path leads to a secluded spot" or "different approaches but equally satisfactory results." Only when the terminal sales representatives of small and medium brand manufacturers break through the "psychological defense line" of terminal operators can the manufacturer win the first "confrontation" with the terminal operator, gain initial control over the terminal, and be able to operate with ease in future market operations, thereby gaining the upper hand and "doing things first, being a person first," leading the more aggressive competing manufacturers.
Interests: The "Cornerstone" of Long-term Cooperation between Manufacturers and Distributors
Pursuing profit is the nature of merchants, and small terminal operators at the end of the channel are no exception. Therefore, in this era of "no profit, no early rising," how to ensure the due interests of small terminal operators is the key for small and medium manufacturers to compete for small terminals.
So, in the process of competing for small terminals, how should small and medium brand manufacturers ensure the interests of terminal operators? What are the specific practices?
Implement a zero-risk market operation model. The biggest difference between small retail terminals and distributors is that distributors care about their own profitability and future growth, while small terminals are most concerned about their immediate interests, that is, whether they will make or lose money by distributing a product. Therefore, targeting this psychological characteristic of small terminals, small and medium brand enterprises should promptly launch zero-risk after-sales commitments. That is, all retailers selling the manufacturer's products are guaranteed product returns and exchanges, absolutely not bringing operational risks to customers, thereby giving retailers a "reassurance pill" and making them more "courageous" and bolder in promoting or purchasing products.
Assist terminal operators with distribution capabilities in deep product distribution and implement channel intensive cultivation to achieve win-win results. That is, by turning some relatively strong terminal operators into their own offices, reasonably utilizing customer resources, and distributing products in some conventional and special channels, thereby avoiding the occurrence of non-actual sales situations where products are transferred from the manufacturer's warehouse to the distributor's warehouse, making the sales channel smoother, and making these relatively large retailers worry-free, thus smoothly achieving the goal of win-win.
Implement a unified price policy operation model, but based on different operating channels and different distribution depths, implement different rebate policies, thereby maintaining the stability of the price policy while distinguishing between large and small customers, protecting the normal operation of the price policy system. For example, "Xia Shuang" purified water, which has been popular in Zhengzhou terminal market for more than 2 years, has a direct-operated terminal price policy of 10 yuan per case, but for terminal operators with distribution capabilities, a distribution fee of 0.6 yuan per case is given, making the price policy both unified and flexible, without causing price dumping or price chaos.
Through the effective use of the above means, small and medium brand enterprises can ensure the due interests of small and medium retailers at all levels, thereby maintaining the stability of the price policy. At the same time, they have greater flexibility in channel intensive cultivation and deep distribution, thus being welcomed and praised by small terminal operators, becoming a powerful weapon for small and medium brands to effectively control small terminals.
Norms: Making Market Operations "the Icing on the Cake"
Many small and medium enterprises fail to win the "heart" of small terminals, largely due to irregular operations. For example, visiting customers "fishing for three days and drying nets for two days," product delivery without time regularity, and making promises to customers casually, all of which to a certain extent cause small and medium terminals to have a wrong understanding of small and medium brands, making many small and medium brands bear the "black pot" of "not keeping promises," making it difficult to gain deep trust from small terminals. And a manufacturer-distributor relationship without trust as a foundation is absolutely not a lasting and reliable relationship.
To avoid the above adverse phenomena, small and medium enterprises must make great efforts in the norms of operating small terminals. The correct practices are as follows:
Improve rules and regulations to ensure service in place. Without rules, nothing can be accomplished. To ensure the institutionalization and processization of terminal operations, small and medium brand enterprises should establish corresponding management systems or standardized operating processes. For example, when Xueyang Company operated small terminals in 2005, it formulated in detail the "Zhengzhou Small and Medium Terminal Operation Management Manual," covering attendance regulations, management systems, job responsibilities, operation management forms, etc. At the same time, according to administrative divisions and their locations, it set up eight distribution stations in Zhengzhou, each with 8-10 terminal sales representatives responsible for terminal distribution and delivery. It also established a distribution "110," that is, strengthening the scheduling management of terminal delivery vehicles. Once a delivery instruction is received, it must immediately replenish goods for small terminals that have ordered within its distribution range, thereby better winning the trust of terminal operators and strengthening the manufacturer's pre-sale, in-sale, and after-sale services.
Formulate operation norms and clarify work processes. That is, based on the purchase frequency of small terminals, formulate detailed customer visit and order acceptance operation processes. For example, Xueyang Company, according to terminal operation norms, formulated eight major steps and standard scripts for visiting terminal customers, standards for display and shelf management of small terminals, time management for customer visits, inventory management of small terminals, fund management, etc., and clearly required that during the distribution process, shelf replenishment and shelf management must be attached, and under the general principle of "visible, touchable, and accessible," carry out serialized product display. By standardizing the above operations, the interactive communication and exchange between the manufacturer and terminal operators is achieved, allowing small terminals and the manufacturer to truly achieve linkage and joint sales.
Standardize the market behavior of small terminals and strictly enforce reward and punishment systems. Although manufacturers operating small and medium terminals avoid or reduce the occurrence of channel conflict to a certain extent, in order to ensure the long-term stability of the "well-matched" "marriage" between small and medium brands and small and medium terminals, manufacturers must also constantly reiterate and strictly enforce market discipline, strictly handling phenomena that disrupt market behavior such as cross-region sales, dumping, and low-price selling to "eat rebates." For example, for some slightly larger wholesale-retail terminal operators that may engage in low-price selling to obtain higher rebates, it can be clearly stipulated that once such phenomena are found, all rebate policies will be canceled. Since these rebates are settled only after the next month, the constant instillation of discipline and the "tightening curse" can also effectively avoid the occurrence of unfair competitive market behavior.
The standardization of small terminal market operations not only constrains the operational behavior of terminal sales representatives of small and medium brand manufacturers but also standardizes the end-market operations of small terminals to a certain extent, which will play an effective incentive and "spur" role for in-depth and lasting cooperation between manufacturers and distributors.
Strategies: Making Terminals a "Stage for Demonstrating Skills"
Just as a good essay is not favored if it is flat, operating small terminals is the same. Therefore, in the environment where "small and medium enterprises survive in the weaknesses and defects of big brands," small and medium enterprises must win by surprise when competing with big brands for small terminals. They must bravely attack the "soft ribs" and "three inches" of big brands, fighting strategy battles rather than price wars, thereby seizing or "cutting out" a small terminal market of their own.
The strategies that small and medium enterprises adopt to challenge big brand enterprises and win small terminal competition are usually as follows:
Implement a direct control terminal model, directly attacking the "Yellow Dragon's Palace." For example, Xueyang's "Xia Shuang" bottled water, targeting big brands like Coca-Cola that adopt deep distribution where sales representatives only take orders and delivery is opportunistic, adopts a piecewise contract system, delineating routes and responsibility areas, implementing "street sweeping" actions, and providing one-stop service, that is, whoever develops the customer is responsible for them to the end, and also specifically responsible for the entire process from order taking to delivery to after-sales service, thereby ensuring the continuity and inheritance of terminal market operations.
Implement a chain promotion strategy to firmly lock in small terminal operators. That is, in setting channel profits, establish a strategic joint sales model, sign joint sales agreements at each level to ensure the due interests of small terminals. The control strategy is to adopt a chain promotion approach: First, increase the intensity of fuzzy operations, clearly stating that regardless of the level of terminal operator, the invoice price is the selling price, and profits are reflected in flexible and varied promotional activities and fuzzy rebates. Promotional items, adhering to the principle of "new, novel, and different," make it difficult for competitors to follow.
Pull at each level and continuously activate terminals. That is, by reasonably setting channel profits, achieve a win-win situation where terminal operators benefit and consumers are satisfied. For example, by using terminal display methods or setting tiered policies, stimulate the enthusiasm of terminal operators to promote; by holding free tasting events or holiday on-site exhibitions in large squares or public places, achieve interactive communication and exchange between products and consumers, allowing products to have zero-distance contact with consumers, thereby maximizing product recognition and acceptance, pulling terminals and consumers, and continuously "activating" the market.
Small and medium brands operating small and medium terminals is a wise move under the current unprecedented channel squeeze. However, only by clearly recognizing the current competitive situation and continuously innovating in competitive methods, and by moving small and medium terminals with emotion and luring them with benefits, can small and medium brands play their market "role" well, please small and medium terminals, occupy the most "vast" and also the most "productive" "fertile soil" in the terminal market, and thus win the final victory in small terminal market competition.
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