During this period, I have been visiting distributors in various places, helping them implement B2b transformation. In this process, I have two observations:
First, distributors generally agree that the B2b model is indeed a way out for transformation;
Second, most distributors are currently unclear about the path and methods for B2b transformation, which is related to the inertial thinking formed by traditional offline business, but B2b is a combination of online and offline. The second topic is a relatively large one. In the following series of articles, I will elaborate on the path and methods for distributors to transform to B2b. This article focuses on sharing the three moves for distributors to do regional B2b: product organization, platform operation, and sales management. Product Organization: Complete Assortment, Low Prices, and Support Many distributors fall into a misconception when starting B2b: they think that a B2b platform is a full-category business, so they need a complete assortment, looking for SKUs everywhere, from 2000 to 4000, to 6000, even to 10,000, only to find a large number of ineffective SKUs that don't sell and occupy warehouse space, forcing them to sell at a loss. Under this premise, let's look at the product structure of a mature B2b. Taking a prefecture-level city as an example, the optimal number of products for full categories is about 6000 SKUs, involving 5 core categories: alcoholic beverages and drinks, convenience and instant food, leisure food, condiments and grain and oil, and non-food. Under the core categories, there are 20-24 first-level categories, and further down, 220-260 second-level categories. Here I share my first viewpoint: Having many SKUs is not having a complete assortment; having complete second-level categories is having a complete assortment. Based on this viewpoint, the product structure becomes much clearer when organizing the product mix. First sort out the first-level categories, then strictly select brands according to the locked second-level categories. For example, under the condiment category, one of the second-level categories is soy sauce/oyster sauce. After clarifying this second-level category, divide it by brand, taste, specification, etc., such as choosing between Haitian, Lee Kum Kee, Chubang, or Donggu, Weijixian, etc. Basically, all B2b platforms have little difference in second-level categories, but the key point is to fill up the second-level categories, so that the product structure is complete. Let me share my second viewpoint: Low price does not mean all products are low-priced, but rather creating a low-price image through "sharp knife" products, making small shop owners feel the prices are low. What are "sharp knife" products? They are products with high market share, high price transparency, and are indispensable to terminal small shops. These products are inherently market circulation items with little profit, but small shops have a price anchor for such products. The proportion of sharp knife products is usually 1/4 of the overall product mix. Usually, these products have low prices, which small shop owners can intuitively feel. Finally, share my third viewpoint: Distributors doing B2b should not work alone or recklessly, but should maintain good manufacturer-distributor relationships and obtain resources and support from manufacturers. This is also one of the core advantages of traditional distributors in the past: establishing good relationships with manufacturers. Now most manufacturers are beginning to pay attention to covering small and medium stores. Distributors doing B2b does not conflict with existing cooperative relationships, and can even help manufacturers do more terminal implementation actions. Platform Operation: Build a Mall, Build Private Domain, and Run Activities Platform operation is mainly divided into three parts: mall construction, private domain system, and scheduled activities. First, look at mall construction. B2b is online ordering, so the online ordering mall is a key tool, bearing the functions of product display and order placement. The mall modules of various regional B2b platforms will not differ much. The more important parts are: one is the homepage setting, usually divided into 48 modules, including carousel images, navigation stations, flash sales, coupon collection, check-in, redemption, announcements, brand activities, special price items, footer images, etc. Another is the product category page setting, usually designed according to first and second-level products. In terms of classification, it is divided into activity categories and product categories. Activity categories include new product launches, city-wide hot sales, near-expiry discounts, whole-piece discounts, factory direct sales, display materials, store opening services, etc. Product categories include rice, flour, grain and oil, leisure retail, kitchen condiments, etc. Key product categories such as large beverages, large leisure, instant food condiments, and non-food can be pulled into activity categories. Product category sorting goes from advantageous categories to weak categories, and key brands can also be placed. One point to emphasize here: The homepage, mall page, and category pages of a regional B2b platform should remain relatively fixed and not be adjusted frequently; only the activities within them need to be rotated periodically. Next, look at the private domain system. In the traditional distributor model, private domain is generally relatively less used; usually only salespeople proactively form some communities when promoting. But in B2b, building a private domain system is very critical, because only with frequent information reach can stores be effectively activated to place orders. The private domain of B2b is mainly divided into five parts. Official account, mainly for service, is the main entrance of the platform; Enterprise WeChat is for customer service, handling pre-sale and after-sale issues for store owners; Personal WeChat is for work accounts and communities, community operation and Moments operation; Video account is an important publicity position, for new product launches, arrival notifications, activity introductions, recruitment, display sharing, and various company events;
Mini program is the core carrier of the mall and live streaming. All private domain tools have one ultimate purpose: to efficiently and frequently reach terminal stores by pushing images, text, videos, links, etc. in real time. Finally, focus on the activity system. The B2b mall is essentially an online ordering platform. Although the principle is light operation and heavy reach, the corresponding activity forms and schedules still need to be planned. Common activity forms for regional B2b include: flash sales, brand activities, category activities, full reduction, full gift, full rebate, etc. Different activity forms correspond to different goals, such as flash sales for attracting new customers, full reduction and full gift for increasing average order value, etc. Activity schedules can be divided by time nodes: Annual activities: four major promotions, including New Year promotion, mid-year promotion, annual promotion, and year-end promotion. Monthly activities: beginning-of-month opening red and end-of-month promotion. Weekly activities: charge day and category day.
Daily activities: flash sales, special prices, brand coupons, and store-wide activities. Sales Management: Capability Model, Team Management, Business Consultant There is a relatively large difference between traditional agency business and regional B2b, which is in the management of the business team. In traditional agency business, salespeople are more responsible for the brand, doing local brand operation, service, and repurchase, and completing corresponding terminal tasks. In B2b business, salespeople can be called "store business consultants," responsible for stores, with the core function of helping stores with product selection, operation, and service. The positioning of salespeople has fundamentally changed, and the corresponding management mechanism must also be upgraded and iterated. First, the market management system changes from traditional grid management to "large grid management by region + public/private sea management mechanism + rank management." In traditional trading business, salespeople are usually managed by grid based on regional division, with one salesperson responsible for a small area, usually without cross-regional competition. In B2b, grid management by region will be retained, but at the same time, a public/private sea management mechanism and rank system will be established. What is the public/private sea management mechanism? For example, if area S is assigned to salesperson a, with 200 stores designated for a's exclusive service, that is a's private sea. But if among these stores there are stores that haven't ordered for 2 months, those stores automatically enter the public sea. Salespeople from other regions can re-develop them, and after development, they become the private sea of other salespeople. The most direct change here is that salespeople can compete across regions, and even overlap in regions. Many traditional distributors are also promoting the rank system. The key point is that different levels of salespeople not only have differences in compensation, but also in their functions. Second, the business needs to cultivate more capabilities: a three-layer capability model of offline capability + online capability + professional capability, incubating salespeople with full-category selling capabilities. Since 2018, many distributors have failed in their attempts to transform to B2b. One important reason is that they did not understand the conversion of business capabilities. The business capability model of the traditional distribution agency model does not match that of B2b. In B2b, salespeople need to retain offline service capabilities while also possessing online capabilities, such as pulling groups online, hitting peak points, charge days, opening red, etc. And professional capabilities, such as full-category selling, store business planning, etc. Importantly, salespeople must become store business consultants, improving store stickiness by helping stores improve their operational capabilities. Third, distributors need to establish a management system for large-scale sales teams, systematizing personnel management, development, and retention. In the traditional distribution agency model, business often comes from manufacturer support, and the number of personnel is not too large. In contrast, the core of the regional B2b business team is self-recruited, and the number of personnel is larger. Therefore, in team management, distributors need to shift from extensive management in the past to refined management. For example, meeting mechanisms, data tracking mechanisms, training systems, new employee retention, honor systems, elimination mechanisms, etc., making the management system detailed and refined. Final Thoughts Many distributors have asked me the same question: whether they are suitable for B2b. The reason for asking this question may be concerns about whether the category is suitable, whether the city is too small, whether there are competing platforms, etc. I personally believe that regardless of category or city, regional B2b can be done. Each prefecture-level city can accommodate about 3 B2b platforms. Distributors who can persist and do the preparatory work well still have opportunities. Due to space limitations, I cannot elaborate on all aspects. On November 21-22, I will be at the "B2b Platform Distributor Deep Inspection Training Class" second stop - Yijia Star B2b Platform, where I will share in depth the practical content of regional B2b operations. Interested distributor friends are welcome to scan the code to register and participate, and have face-to-face exchanges on site! Teacher Yunchuan, founder of Shengyihao Consulting, B2b supply chain expert, has been engaged in B2b supply chain and terminal empowerment work for 12 years. He has explored and practiced a new combination of B2b supply chain and terminal stores, first proposed the concept of retail terminal service providers, and created a complete training system for upgrading traditional FMCG salespeople to retail terminal business consultants.