The chaotic marketing rhythm is all due to declining sales It must be admitted that the marketing rhythm of traditional enterprises has been disrupted over the past two to three years, which is abnormal. There are two main reasons for the disruption: first, being at a loss when facing the internet, especially e-commerce; second, improper response to continuous sales decline. Today we will not discuss the internet, only the sales decline. In the past two to three years, sales of traditional enterprises have been continuously declining. This is an unprecedented experience for most enterprises, and it is this that has disrupted their marketing rhythm. One manifestation of the disrupted marketing rhythm is that normal marketing work has disappeared, and everyone is doing abnormal work, resulting in a vicious cycle of marketing activities. Emergency response disrupts the rhythm When an individual or an enterprise faces a sudden situation, there will be an emergency response. Because there is no contingency plan and no prior experience, it can only be an emergency response. Most emergency responses are instinctive, not professional. The instinctive response is self-protection, which is human nature. The sudden decline in industry sales was beyond the expectations of enterprises. Emergency responses are not surprising; what is surprising is that they have been in a state of emergency for the past two to three years. Chinese enterprises have always been in a state of growth, and the difference between enterprises is the level of growth rate, because the industry is growing. However, in 2014, most traditional enterprises, especially FMCG companies, faced a sudden situation: almost all enterprises saw sales decline. This was an unprecedented phenomenon, including some small industries that had been growing well in previous years, which suddenly fell into a state of decline. Not only was 2014 a decline, but 2015 also saw a decline, and in 2016 many enterprises still experienced decline. This is indeed unprecedented. If in the past only enterprises with poor performance in the industry saw sales decline, then the characteristic of this round of decline is that leading enterprises in the industry generally declined. Is this a sudden situation? Is it beyond expectations? Perhaps some enterprises with good industry research were mentally prepared, but I believe most were not. Without mental preparation, but with sales indeed declining, most enterprises entered a "state of emergency": to maintain sales volume. The normal marketing rhythm of enterprises was disrupted by the need to maintain sales volume. From "incremental growth" to "preserving existing volume" Perhaps from today's perspective, the sales decline in 2014 was normal, but at that time it was certainly not considered so, and before the statistical data came out, it was very likely that enterprises did not know that the industry was declining; they usually thought it was only their own decline. It should be noted that the past marketing rhythm was to achieve sales, which essentially meant "incremental growth." Since it was "incremental growth," the work must be related to increasing sales. I have always advocated that salespeople must do work "related to sales growth," and process assessment is also related to this. After sales decline, the need to "maintain sales volume" essentially means "preserving existing volume." From "incremental growth" to suddenly entering "preserving existing volume," the marketing rhythm is certainly disrupted. What is more frightening is that enterprises do this unconsciously, because emergency responses are themselves unconscious; otherwise, how could they be called instinctive reactions? The vicious cycle of "preserving existing volume" When sales decline, how to "preserve existing volume" in the short term? Those who have worked in sales are familiar with this: it is the so-called "promotion," using promotional policies to push inventory and occupy warehouse space. There is a saying in the marketing circle: "There is no sales target that cannot be achieved; there are only policies that cannot achieve sales targets." With promotional policies, channels can be pushed to stock up in the short term. Once the goods are pushed down, it gives an illusion: sales are squeezed out. In the past, pushing inventory was actually adhering to this concept: squeezing sales. But this round of decline is different from the past; sales simply cannot be squeezed out. Thus, a vicious cycle begins: because the pushed-down goods cannot be digested, a large number of "near-expiry products" require returns, especially severe for "short-shelf-life products." Not accepting returns is definitely not possible, because if returns are not accepted, the next round of pushing inventory will be useless. In the early stage, they did "pushing inventory," and later they had to deal with the problems of pushing inventory (near-expiry products). The time and work of the marketing team were consumed on these two tasks, because these two tasks were overwhelming. Other work could be skipped, but "pushing inventory" to maintain sales volume must be done, and handling "near-expiry products" had to be done. This is only the first vicious cycle. Because pushing inventory becomes increasingly difficult, only larger policies are introduced, usually "tiered policies." The larger the tier, the more inventory is pushed. However, tiered policies also mean that small terminals do not get the policy, and it is the "secondary wholesalers" that can absorb the policy. Thus, the second vicious cycle begins: the larger the tier, the fewer small terminals can get the policy, and finally "secondary wholesalers" replace the once-popular "deep distribution," reducing the terminal coverage rate, which in turn affects sales. The reason I propose that the "marketing rhythm" has been disrupted is that many enterprises are trapped in the above two vicious cycles and cannot extricate themselves. Jump out of the vicious cycle and return to normal rhythm In 2014, sales declined, and people thought it was abnormal. This is a normal reaction; "preserving existing volume" is not wrong. In 2015, sales continued to decline, and many people still thought it was abnormal. This is also a normal reaction. However, some enterprises have already realized this problem. In 2016, more enterprises have realized that the sales decline is normal, and the past emergency responses are abnormal. Some enterprises have begun to adjust, and some adjustments are quite good. It is definitely not feasible for enterprises to completely give up "preserving existing volume," because competitors are still pushing inventory. Returning to normal does not mean returning to the original state, because incremental growth is almost impossible. To return to normal, it is necessary to clarify: what is the normal marketing in the future? If we do not talk about the internet, I believe the normal marketing in the future lies in how to promote mid-to-high-end products, achieve mainstream gear shifting, and structural adjustment. How traditional enterprises' marketing adjusts to the new normal state will be discussed in future articles. -END- The best FMCG distributor learning platform in China Focusing on providing professional, practical, and applicable tutorials for enterprises 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 the corresponding content Reply with number 1 to view the complete knowledge base | 001 Excellent article selection | 002 Distributor market operation | 003 Terminal visit management | 004 Sales supervisor skills | 005 Sales improvement techniques | 006 Channel expansion | 007 Managing distributors | 008 Distributor development | 009 Distributor internal operations management | 010 Team management | 011 Efficient distribution techniques | 012 Sales manager's eighteen skills | 013 KA operation methods and strategies | 014 First lesson for new salespeople | 015 Internet, brand | 016 Distributor B2B transformation | [Long press QR code to follow]