Based on my observations, apart from e-commerce, digitalization in enterprises is currently led by several departments: 1. E-commerce department; 2. IT department; 3. Marketing department; 4. Dedicated channel digitalization team.
How do these departments connect with users through digitalization? The methods are as follows:
1. Traffic diversion from platforms (including live-streaming platforms). Although this practice is not allowed by platforms, some enterprises inevitably do it, and it cannot be completely banned. Converting public domain traffic from platforms to private domain is limited in scale.
2. Traffic diversion through products. QR code diversion has become standard, but the overall effect is mediocre. Most users no longer have the impulse to scan QR codes on products.
3. Traffic diversion through company 2C platforms. For example, diversion through official accounts.
4. Social fission or various private domain traffic tactics, including KOL and KOC strategies. Based on my observations, this method often fails to activate users, resulting in low active user numbers.
Summary of current practices reveals three major characteristics:
1. Basically F2C model. It seems deeply influenced by the B2C e-commerce model.
2. Insufficient user scale. Reaching 100,000 users is easy, 1 million is not difficult, but 10 million is the ceiling.
3. Low user activity. Mainly because F2C has limited ways to activate users.
According to the division of the three main battlefields of digitalization, these are all peripheral battlefields, not yet entering the main battlefield. They cannot fight major battles or decisive battles.
Main Battlefield, Main Battle Team
For leading FMCG enterprises, platform e-commerce is not the main battlefield. In others' main battlefields, they can play a marginal role or even be spectators. But when their own main battlefield arrives, they cannot remain marginalized or be spectators.
I have already proposed that channel digitalization involves two major integrations: online-offline integration; and integration of manufacturer, distributor, and retailer. According to this logic, the traditional channel team has no choice but to become the "main battle team" in the channel digitalization.
The channel becomes the "main battlefield," and the channel team is naturally the "main battle team."
The "six duals" I proposed for the channel digitalization operation system design are tailor-made for the channel team.
Dual paths: long-chain reach, short-chain operation. The long chain F2B2b2C is how the channel team reaches the C-end. Short-chain operations (F2C, B2C, b2C) are mainly run online, but B2C and b2C operations require the channel team to first communicate offline before online operations can proceed.
Dual private domains: brand owner's private domain + retailer's private domain. The brand owner's private domain is naturally operated online, but the retailer's private domain cannot be ceded without offline cooperation.
Dual scenarios: offline scenario + online scenario. Channel digitalization does not exclude offline; offline may still be the main component. Additionally, O2O, which integrates online and offline, cannot be achieved without the channel team's participation.
Dual shelves and dual delivery are inevitable outcomes of dual scenarios. Especially dual shelves, which have the dual effect of "incremental sales" and "incremental profits" for the retail end, greatly enhancing the channel team's position at the terminal.
Dual middle platforms: back-end middle platform and front-end middle platform. This is not the channel team's job but the work after the traditional marketing department transforms. It shows that channel digitalization is a collective transformation of both the sales and marketing departments.
Dual-capability talent: which is more important?
Channel digitalization imposes new professional and skill requirements on the original channel team. If the professional and skill thresholds are too high, transformation becomes difficult.
Channel digitalization transformation requires "dual dual-capability" talent, meaning two types of dual-capability personnel.
One type is dual-capability in online-offline integration. They need to understand both traditional channels and the internet.
The other is dual-capability in 2B and 2C. They need to understand both 2B and 2C.
Dual-capability talent is already hard to find; dual dual-capability talent is not just scarce but rare.
Large numbers of dual-capability talent are cultivated. Since channel digitalization is the integration of online and offline, either digitalization experts need to understand offline channels, or channel experts need to understand digitalization.
In recent years, many enterprises have been troubled by this. Both system providers and traditional channel enterprises face difficulties.
System service providers are troubled because they understand digitalization but cannot grasp channels, especially Chinese channels. Some ask me if there is a way to "accelerate channel understanding." I have no solution.
Because channel skills in China are not knowledge but experience. Without long-term channel experience, it is difficult to quickly develop channel skills.
Currently, it is not difficult to find people in the channel team who understand digitalization. In Chinese university education, English and computer science have become "common majors." During the promotion of channel B2B, there were no major obstacles in team professional skills.
The 2B and 2C dual-capability has similarities. Is it easier to understand the B-end or the C-end? 2B is professional, while 2C has an instinctive component.
When it comes to the C-end, most people can talk about it because everyone is a C, and empathy is enough. But for the B-end, it requires not only professionalism but also experience.
Dealing with the C-end often involves batches. Dealing with the B-end is more one-on-one. Handling 100 or 1000 people is easier than handling one person.
Current deep distribution has entered the boundary between B and C. For example, shopping guides are at the boundary of B and C. Another example is communicating with the C-end through communities, which has become a basic method for deep distribution to reach C in many enterprises.
Offline reach to C is not difficult for the channel team. Online operation of C uses various tags to mark the C-end, which is relatively procedural. Although there are professional thresholds, the F2C model is not difficult for those who have done B2C.
The conclusion from the above analysis is: Using the existing channel team as the main battle team is not a major professional skill issue. Moreover, most transformations in China are not about professional skills but about models.
Model is Key
For transformation, top management focuses on cognition, grassroots on habits, and the key is the model.
Some say there is a shortage of digitalization talent. In fact, everyone is exploring and lacks talent. But once a lever enterprise succeeds, talent will be everywhere.
Talent is the inevitable result of a successful model. When a lever enterprise's model succeeds, talent will spread like flowers across the country.
Top management's transformation is about cognition, meaning only with full cognition can they dare to make decisions. They must dare to invest, adjust structures, and adjust KPIs.
For example, top management decides whether to design channel digitalization as F2C or F2B2b2C. The "six duals" in the operation system design are all system designs after cognition is in place.
Grassroots transformation is about habits. If knowledge and skills are not converted into habits, they remain just topics of conversation and reserves.
What is a habit? A habit is behavior without thinking. If you do something without thinking, it is a habit. Eating, you don't think about using your left or right hand because it's a habit.
Personal skills eventually become habitual actions. Training is about turning prescribed actions into habits. Otherwise, it remains just knowledge, not behavior.
An excellent enterprise must turn prescribed skills into a collective habit. This is the strength of excellent enterprises.
The gap between excellent and ordinary enterprises is: ordinary enterprises always have a few particularly capable people whom others cannot learn from; excellent enterprises always turn individual capabilities into collective habitual actions.
Once habits form, they are hard to change, especially collective habits. For example, the transformation to deep distribution was once difficult because the work object had to change from B to b. Even such a small change was difficult, and some people were eliminated.
The first hurdle in transformation is cognitive change; the second is collective habit change.
Cognitive issues include two aspects: 1. Persuasion by reasoning; 2. Conquest by facts. That is, present facts and reason.
Persuasion by reasoning is difficult because there are many reasons and the "what if" factor. That is, fear of the unexpected.
Conquest by facts is about overwhelming. In the face of facts, one must submit even if unwilling. To have facts, you need pilots and models.
Conquest by facts also has issues, such as universality. Therefore, ultimately, large-scale promotion to change public habits must rely on models.
The rapid promotion of deep distribution was related to our vigorous promotion of the "Eight-Step Deep Distribution Method" in Sales and Marketing at that time. This model became the habitual practice for most people in deep distribution.
If channel digitalization is still at the cognitive level of reasoning, it is far from implementation. Only when it enters the model level can it enter the stage of large-scale promotion.
After more than a year of practice and observation, I have proposed the "Five-Step Digital Operation Method," which is a preliminary model for channel digitalization. However, the model is not just about steps; I will elaborate in the trilogy of model formation.
The talent pool for channel digitalization is not a big problem. So, what is the biggest problem? I think it is: 1. System design; 2. Operation model.
System design is the top management's responsibility, and the operation model is the grassroots' responsibility.
Source: Teacher Liu's Digital New Marketing (ID: liuchunxiong1964) Author: Liu Chunxiong
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