Introduction: Every new thing's birth attracts some criticism. As an entrepreneur, when promoting a new product launch, have you faced: salespeople's lack of confidence and distributors' disinterest? At this time, as an entrepreneur, you must use some 'hard measures' to 'force' salespeople and distributors to promote new products.
Let me give a small example.
When visiting a senior FMCG industry veteran, he told the editor a story about promoting a new product: 'An old distributor went to the company's board to complain, accusing the regional manager of forcing the distribution of new products. Because he refused to comply, his shipments were stopped. His reason for refusal was: "The consumers in my area mainly buy old products; new products won't sell."'
This distributor believed that the company should ship whatever consumers need. At first glance, this seems reasonable, but it's not. Although consumers mainly buy old products, it doesn't mean no one likes new products. Consumers' potential needs need to be guided.
In fact, market research had already shown that consumer 'demand' had changed significantly, but this distributor had refused to promote new products for three years, while old products entered decline, and sales kept falling.
Most distributors, because they can't see the future trend of new products, only want to sell bestsellers. As a result, when bestsellers reach decline, their business plummets. Sometimes, companies using 'hard measures' to promote new products is actually to help employees and distributors keep pace with the company's product adjustments and grow together.
During the new product promotion period, to lead employees and distributors to success together with the company, the following 7 'hard measures' can be used.
Mandatory shipment without favoritism Some distributors have good relationships with marketing personnel and ask to take fewer goods or not take new products. In such cases, marketing personnel need to adhere to shipment standards and enforce the company's promotion plan, aligning with the company's direction. For distributors or marketing personnel who refuse to support promotion, implement heavy penalties, persuade them to leave, or terminate distribution rights. The company's development history is a series of successful product upgrades; distributors who keep up can continue to thrive. Every time marketing personnel ask distributors to promote new products, it's to help distributors gain more profit and achieve product upgrades in sync with the company.
Resolve channel customers' worries Distributors' most direct goal in agency business is to make money, but in the pursuit of profit, distributors first focus on risk, then profit. For new product promotion, companies should make distributors believe that promoting this new product has no risk, and provide written commitments: if the product doesn't sell after distribution as required, or if quality issues arise within the shelf life, the company will accept returns and exchanges.
Rapid distribution In new product promotion, act aggressively, requiring each province and region to distribute goods to channels and terminals within a set time. 'In martial arts, speed is the key.' New product distribution emphasizes the word 'fast'—it's about racing against time, pursuing speed, and demanding efficiency. Like farmers harvesting wheat, you have to seize those few days. When distributing, it's best to prioritize sales outlets. Usually, outlets are divided into three types: image outlets, sales outlets, and dead outlets. Do sales outlets first; new products have a higher survival rate. If a county has 2,000 outlets, and there are 200 or 300 sales outlets, it means if you distribute to those 200 or 300 stores, the repurchase rate will be at least 50%.
Assess distribution rate Terminal distribution requires a distribution rate. The more outlets, the greater the chance consumers see the new product. The number of outlets determines the repurchase rate, and the effective distribution rate determines sales. Terminal distribution solves the problem of whether consumers can see the product; it's not that once the product reaches the terminal, everything is fine. To promote market promotion more effectively, new products should also be displayed according to company standards. If the display is not up to standard, it may cause slow or failed new product promotion. Here, there's an important point to note: when doing product displays, it's best to place them where consumers can see them, not deliberately display them for consumers to see.
- According to standards: the outlet must have a certain amount of foot traffic.
- At least two POP (point-of-purchase) ads posted at the entrance.
- Within 180 degrees of the entrance, within 1 meter, there should be no less than 8 boxes of display.
- The top of the full-box display should have a cut-box display.
- The full-box display should have price tags attached.
- On the target shelf, there should be no less than 6 facings of the single product.
Single product breakthrough, focused promotion To do this well, follow these principles: When promoting several products of the same tier in the same period, promote only one product at a time to achieve a single product breakthrough. Do not promote a second new product before the first one has passed its promotion period, to prevent the two new products from 'fighting'. Do not spread limited products across unlimited outlets, to avoid extremely low terminal distribution rates.
Strict work processes Process, goals, plans, training, assessment, tracking, and inspection are all indispensable. For new product promotion, if there are no goals, no plans, no training, no evaluation, no summary, and no inspection, there will definitely be no sales. Excellent companies use various standardized operation manuals to make ordinary employees and distributors 'forced to be diligent,' 'forced to execute,' and 'forced to grow in sync.' After being 'forced' for a certain period, employees and distributors will become habitually diligent, habitually executing, and habitually growing.
Source: Win Marketing (ID: yingxiaoli888) -END-