Market is tough, products don't move, consumers don't recognize the product, terminal salespeople don't know how to work effectively—these are common problems manufacturers and distributors face in terminal channels. To achieve terminal sales, how do companies like Yanghe, Langjiu, and Gujing achieve hot sales in four steps?
Step 1: Maximize Display Display is an important channel to visually showcase products to consumers and a key factor in stimulating terminal sales. Competition for baijiu display space is fierce; many terminal store shelves have become a major profit source for terminals, and the cost of baijiu in-store display has risen accordingly.
From my perspective, display remains a key winning tactic for new product distribution and sustained sales of existing products. Maximizing display space is a fundamental task for sales personnel.
- Buyout Display – To maximize blocking of competitors, a one-time buyout of terminal store shelves for a period, paid in cash or offset by goods (this method requires high market investment, low terminal cooperation, and is difficult to promote; suitable for base markets or mature popular products in local markets).
Yanghe Blue Classic series faced strong competition from Yangshao Caotao Fang in the XX market in 2013; terminal store owners switched to other competing products, and Yanghe's local market share dropped significantly. In response, Yanghe implemented a buyout display policy in this market at the end of 2013, executing 40 buyout displays within 30 days (out of about 120 local terminal stores, main counters all stocked with Yanghe series products and Sdense wine, display period 2 years, offset by products). The strong display activity and atmosphere turned the situation around, making Yanghe the top-selling baijiu brand locally again.
- Brand Counter Display – Broadly refers to brand display; baijiu brand counter display involves obtaining an entire shelf section in a tobacco and alcohol terminal store through display fees or other means, placing the same product or products from the same company according to agreement. Typically 1-2 counters, display period 3-6 months. For strong local or mature products, manufacturers may implement year-round brand counter displays (this method is often used for strong local liquor brands or popular regional foreign brands, with good display results).
Gujing Year Original series entered the XX market in 2010; the first step of distribution was shelf display (one shelf of 6 bottles, after 6 months the display becomes the terminal's property), but the market was lukewarm initially. In 2013, Gujing adjusted its approach, straightened out manufacturer-distributor relations, and laid out new merchants. To counter Yanghe's strong buyout display blocking, Gujing implemented brand counter displays for core terminals (three bottles of Year Original 5 per month), boosting core terminals' confidence in selling Gujing, further maintaining customer relations, and effectively resisting Yanghe's display blockade.
- Shelf Display – Used for baijiu products and new products in the early stage of terminal entry; generally occupies one shelf layer (display period 3-6 months, 2-3 product items, no more than 6 bottles; this method is mostly used for new product distribution and products with certain sales in the local market, but has little effect on creating terminal market atmosphere).
Langpai Tequ series entered the XX market after its new product launch in 2011, promoting store entry through display. The display standard was 6 bottles of Langpai Tequ T3/T6/T9 series, occupying one shelf, with a monthly reward of 200 yuan to the terminal store for 3 months. A total of 30 terminal stores were executed in the local market (out of about 150 tobacco and alcohol terminal stores). After 3 months of display, at least 10 stores achieved healthy sales. (Note: Later, the distributor redeemed rewards in the form of discount coupons, causing some terminals to resent the coupons, which significantly affected the display results.)
- Stack Display – The role of stack display is twofold: first, for consumers, to create an atmosphere of hot sales; second, for terminals, by occupying in-store space, to block competitors and create sales pressure on terminal store owners (from the current market situation, stack display is more difficult to implement; it requires large-scale stock pressure as a prerequisite, but due to market sales pressure and capital constraints, terminals are shifting to a "short, flat, fast" stocking model. Generally, mature or best-selling products are more easily accepted for stack display, but it is hard to carry out on a large scale in terminals).
Step 2: Vivid Atmosphere As the saying goes, "Good products speak for themselves," and similarly, "A good atmosphere speaks volumes and helps promote sales." In fact, atmosphere building is a continuous effort; terminal atmosphere construction should be vivid and easy for terminals to accept, making the most effective use of limited space and achieving maximum market results with optimal investment.
Seize advantageous positions, prime stores, and create store signs and facades. As an important part of terminal atmosphere, store signs and facades are essential; their direct influence is obvious, with intuitive publicity that easily narrows the distance with consumers. Moreover, many signs indicate that the liquor has "occupied" the city; seizing golden positions on key streets is the most effective brand image promotion.
Make full use of display cabinets. A large part of consumers' purchase decisions at terminals is influenced by product consumption-inducing publicity, so it is necessary to give products such publicity. For new products, set up "Store Manager's Recommendation" signs on display cabinets; for mature products, set up "Hot Selling in This Store" signs.
Comprehensive atmosphere decoration for core terminals without dead corners. Seizing terminal atmosphere is seizing the market high ground; comprehensive atmosphere coverage for core terminals is the best way to promote products. Use lanterns, light boxes, KT boards, banners, door pushers, bar counter and cashier decorations, etc., maintaining continuity as much as possible to create visual impact.
Step 3: Normalize Customer Relations Customer relations must be normalized with quantified assessment standards to regulate sales personnel's work. Here, normalization means sales personnel should do four main tasks: fixed terminal visit routes, fixed visit frequency, fixed terminal information collection and management, and core terminal tasting events.
- Fixed terminal visit routes. Fixing visit routes is like assembly line management, making sales visits standardized, procedural, and standardized, effectively supervising sales personnel's work and improving execution.
Yanghe clearly divided each salesperson's visit routes in managing distributor sales personnel, especially with strict penalties for off-route behavior, aiming to form grid management and maximize service to terminals.
Fixed terminal visit frequency. Set fixed visit frequencies for terminals, dividing them into three levels: Level 1 stores have no sales and do not cooperate with atmosphere building, not key terminals, visited 1-2 times per month; Level 2 stores have some sales and some cooperation, visited 4-5 times per month; Level 3 stores have high sales and high cooperation, visited 8-10 times per month.
Fixed terminal information collection and management. Only require sales personnel to collect key terminal information, namely "daily visit report," "terminal market dynamics table," and "sales table," so they can focus more on effective communication and service with customers.
Conduct terminal tasting events. Currently, although various manufacturers and distributors conduct various tasting public relations for terminal store owners, owners are not very interested. However, after doing preliminary visits and daily customer maintenance, tasting events remain an effective tool to bring terminal owners closer to manufacturers and distributors.
Step 4: Branded Promotions What we want to do is not just promote product movement through price wars, but through promotions, develop new consumption hotspots and potential consumer groups. This kind of promotion is not narrowly price promotion, but a joint promotion integrating brand and product.
In the past, brand marketing and product promotion were separated; brands relied on high-altitude pull, while product promotion used terminal outlets as channels. But consumers' information channels are increasingly diversified; they need to directly feel the benefits of the brand. Now, promotions should integrate brand and product, that is, product promotions should be integrated into brand activities, while also ensuring consumer interaction and participation; brand activities drive product promotions.
Wedding and banquet promotions Gujing Gongjiu launched a regional "Gujing Han-style Collective Wedding" theme, inviting local couples about to marry to participate in the collective wedding as a wedding-themed promotional activity, successively held in Hefei, Bozhou, Huangshan, Huizhou, etc. The results exceeded expectations. At the same time, combined with channel wedding and banquet promotions, market atmosphere was further enhanced, and this theme activity, as a wedding focal point, was promoted in various sales markets.
Langpai Tequ in the XX market used "buy one get one free" as the main wedding banquet promotion, but mainstream baijiu wedding promotions were often buy one get one free or even more generous, so Langpai Tequ had no advantage. In the three years since entering the market, wedding channel sales were lukewarm. In response, in May 2015, they launched a "Most Beautiful Bride" selection activity, achieving a major breakthrough in wedding banquet orders that month and rapidly boosting market atmosphere.
Graduation banquets combined with "summer student work-study" Langjiu: "Thank you teacher banquet, Langpai Tequ wishes you well" and "Langjiu: Let's brave the summer together" (held for two consecutive years, selecting high school graduates, training participants, who actively participated in various roadshows to promote Langte products and brand, "occupying" various residential areas and squares through various forms of publicity, and using their own resources combined with graduation and thank-you banquets).
Product gifts combined with sports events Old Langjiu carried out activities in various places through product gifts and roadshows, using branded product promotions to both publicize the brand to consumers and promote product sales.
After reading these four steps, you might say: We do this every day. Maybe that's true, but you definitely haven't done it well. Today's marketing competition is about detail and solid work. If you take one "tactic" to the extreme, it becomes a "masterstroke"!
Source: Baijiu Distributor Academy
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