Before the peak season, after FMCG manufacturers have stocked up and pushed inventory to distributors, the next step is to drive product sell-through. Sell-through is more important than stocking because only when products truly move through the channel can the 'dangerous leap from commodity to money' be achieved, meeting sales and profit targets. To achieve hot sales, manufacturers must do the following three 'preheating' tasks:

Activate Terminals After inventory is transferred, manufacturers must find ways to move products from warehouses to the sales 'frontline' at distributors or retailers. To do this, they must excel at terminal merchandising. What is product merchandising? It means making products 'visible, well-displayed, and available' through prime display locations, attractive placements, and vivid promotional materials, creating a lively selling atmosphere that attracts consumers, captures attention, stimulates purchase desire, and ultimately drives sales.

Terminal merchandising serves several purposes:

  1. Attract and stimulate consumers: During peak season, many brands compete at retail points, and consumers have little time to decide. If displays, arrangements, and promotions are outstanding and eye-catching, products stand out and become the preferred choice.
  2. Enhance product and brand image through hard terminals, increasing awareness: Consumer perception of a brand often comes from retail points. By using POP, store signs, posters, and product displays, we build a brand image that consumers recognize and accept.
  3. Stimulate purchase and boost sales: Most consumer purchases are impulsive. When attracted by lively displays and gradually approving the product, their desire to buy is stimulated, aiding brand choice and driving sales.

Requirements for effective terminal merchandising:

  1. Product facings must be at least equal to or more than key competitors. Secure more and better positions, aiming for full, complete, and concentrated displays.
  2. Optimize end caps and floor displays: First, choose prime locations with sufficient size; second, arrange products well and use POP; third, use TVs or computers to add dynamism; fourth, where allowed, have promoters use megaphones or props to attract attention.
  3. Create special displays: For example, promotion walls, product zones, display rooms, demo areas, special end caps, or displays near checkout counters.
  4. Leverage soft terminals: Through promoters' or sales staff's appearance, selling skills, service, and good relationships with neighboring brands and store managers, maximize product promotion. Combining soft and hard terminal activation shortens the distance between products and consumers, increasing touchpoints and laying a solid foundation for sales.

Appropriate Promotions Terminal activation only increases product exposure and gets products into consumers' minds. To achieve hot sales and a virtuous cycle, appropriate promotions are needed. Here, promotion is broadly defined, including personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and advertising.

1. Personal Selling This mainly refers to 'ground push,' such as comprehensive, multi-channel, blanket distribution before peak season, and increasing customer visit or follow-up frequency.

2. Sales Promotion If terminal activation enhances visual appeal, promotions let consumers further interact with and accept the product, increasing trial opportunities. For example, in-store free tastings, buy-one-get-one offers, prize draws, and other events at malls, supermarkets, communities, or residential areas can spark curiosity and desire, facilitating purchase decisions.

3. Public Relations PR activities are effective strategies to enhance product image and increase brand awareness, favorability, and credibility during peak season. By hosting PR events related to product sales, products can subtly enter consumers' minds. For instance, Nongfu Spring's 'One Cent Charity' program generated goodwill and drove purchases. Mengniu's marketing events around aerospace and Super Girl boosted brand awareness and consumer interest. Beer companies' large beer festivals or plaza events also attract attention and foster consumer preference.

4. Advertising Advertising is the most direct and effective way to drive peak-season sales. Through 'high-altitude bombing' combined with ground forces, products can quickly enter the market and gain rapid consumer recognition. Advertising is the door-opener; with terminal activation, ground promotion, PR, etc., product value is quickly realized in transactions, meeting marketing targets.

Service Marketing To make peak-season sales 'add fuel to the fire,' a perfect service system is crucial. In today's detail-driven world, service levels often determine competitiveness. With high product homogeneity, companies must enrich augmented products to differentiate, like manufacturers setting up specialty stores or 4S shops to serve customers better. Service value will become increasingly evident in future market competition.

During peak season, to excel at service marketing, recognize the following:

  1. To sustain sell-through, manufacturers must build long-term interactive relationships with channels and consumers to prevent customer loss.
  2. Establish relevance with customers: Through door-to-door service, personalized and humanized products and services, build trust, transforming transactions into responsibilities, customers into friends, and marketing mix management into interactive relationship management.
  3. Shift focus from product features to benefits customers derive from products or services, turning transaction marketing into relationship marketing.
  4. Move from neglecting customer service to making high commitments.

This builds long-term mutual trust, assistance, and benefit. To truly embody service marketing in peak season, do the following:

1. Emphasize Pre-sales Service For example, build good customer relationships to increase product favorability; standardize market operations with unified appearance, dress, and scripts to build trust in service levels.

2. Strengthen In-sales Service This refers to the sales process, such as daily workflow, eight-step visits, and execution of promotions.

3. Improve After-sales Service This includes post-transaction services like quality guarantees, free delivery, and zero-risk commitments to channels, creating word-of-mouth, boosting channel confidence and satisfaction, and enabling true sell-through.

In peak season, only by focusing on terminal activation, promotions, and service can products flow quickly, moving from manufacturer warehouses to channel warehouses and then selling swiftly, making sales unstoppable and maximizing volume and profit.

At the request of many distributor friends, our platform's fourth B2B e-commerce study tour will visit Nanjing and Hangzhou from August 15-18 to inspect Qianmi Network and Alibaba Retail Link. Distributors interested in transformation can join us:

Agenda: Time: August 15-18

15th: Check in at designated hotel in Nanjing; 16th: Visit Qianmi Network, then high-speed rail to Hangzhou; 17th: Attend 'FMCG Distributor B2B Transformation Exchange Summit'; 18th: Visit Alibaba Retail Link in Hangzhou.

Distributors interested in transformation are welcome to join us for understanding and on-site inspection:

Organization

  1. Company visits
  2. Real market case visits
  3. On-site explanations
  4. One-on-one exchanges

Participating distributors only need to pay a registration fee of 200 yuan. Other expenses are self-covered. Note: This inspection is limited to distributors.

Interested distributors can register by long-pressing the QR code below. When adding, please note: 'Fourth Registration'.

Non-participants, please do not disturb.

Previous Study Tour Group Photos: Third B2B e-commerce study tour group photo, from top to bottom: Yunbao Shangmeng, Weijie Chengpei, Wanshang Yizhan. Second B2B e-commerce study tour group photo, from top to bottom: Jinhuobao, Caiba, Yishang. First B2B e-commerce study tour group photo, from top to bottom: Piduoduo, Beiquan, Yishang.

-END-

China's best learning platform for FMCG distributors Focusing on providing professional, practical, and actionable tutorials for companies and distributors Committed to helping Chinese FMCG distributors grow rapidly

The most professional and practical knowledge base in the FMCG industry Reply with the red number below to get corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent Articles | 002 Distributor Market Operations | 003 Terminal Visit Management | 004 Sales Supervisor Skills | 005 Sales Boost Techniques | 006 Channel Expansion | 007 Managing Distributors | 008 Distributor Development | 009 Distributor Internal Operations | 010 Team Management | 011 Efficient Distribution Techniques | 012 Sales Manager's Skills | 013 KA Operation Strategies | 014 First Lesson for New Salespeople | 015 Internet, Brand | 016 Distributor B2B Transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]