Friendly reminder: Click the blue text above to follow "FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting" for more insights on marketing and distributor internal management.

Many new products fail in promotion because only sales targets are set, without outlet assessment metrics. By solely demanding sales volume from salespeople, the result is that they establish many ineffective outlets, causing the new product to die.

Some bosses believe that the bigger the network, the more money they make, so they push salespeople to open more outlets. The result is that each outlet dies one by one, and even in key markets, there is little sales volume.

Therefore, under the vision of sustained growth, what we need to do further is: channel focus, i.e., screen outlets and focus on catching "quality fish."

Not long ago, a boss launched a new product and went "street sweeping" (blanket distribution). He found that some stores hadn't moved any stock a month after receiving goods. When he visited, distributors and "second-tier wholesalers" complained that the product was hard to sell and wanted returns.

Imagine: wouldn't this demoralize salespeople? Wouldn't they lose confidence? And wouldn't returned goods suffer packaging damage, increasing company costs?

He asked me what to do. I said, "Simple. Which distributors, second-tier wholesalers, and outlets have good relationships with you, where a word from you makes them push your product?"

He listed over 100. I said, "First, distribute to these 100-plus outlets; don't distribute to others yet."

He asked, "Why?" I said, "Don't ask why yet; just distribute according to standard."

What happened? A miracle: the repeat purchase rate hit 96%. If he had continued blanket distribution, a 50% conversion rate would have been remarkable.

Why did this boss succeed? Because the outlets were screened. Sales performance ultimately depends on outlet quality; salespeople must not first build ineffective outlets.

Let's clearly define a quality outlet:

  • Order quantity falls between the company's specified maximum and minimum order standards.
  • Display position is within 90 degrees of the entrance.
  • Single-SKU display facing is maximized within the category.
  • Has eye-catching reminders (price tags, POP, explosive stickers, etc.).
  • The customer makes our product the first recommended choice.

Among these, display is especially important. Display position and standards—whether single-SKU focus or multi-SKU mixed, horizontal or vertical—affect product turnover to varying degrees.

During the new product promotion period, channel focus requires two key points:

First, control the quality of outlet construction. Supervisors should determine the daily number of outlets each salesperson develops and the quality of new outlets: effective or ineffective? When assessing salespeople, evaluate both sales targets and outlet targets, with outlet assessment detailed and standardized.

Second, on the basis of broad coverage, focus on value outlets and volume outlets. The more outlets and the better their quality, the higher the sales volume. As the saying goes, "focus on catching fish"—intensity is key. Either don't do it, or make it a "model outlet"!

From broad coverage to focused fishing, how can companies identify effective outlets and key places to catch big fish?

First, target specific markets. Choose a specific market as a base, invest resources, energy, and time, establish benchmarks, and boost confidence in new product promotion.

Three indicators must be considered when selecting this specific market:

  • Distributor cooperation and execution. Distributors without tacit cooperation and strong execution—the stronger their strength, the poorer their cooperation—lower the probability of successful product promotion. Every company needs to cultivate some "loyalist" distributors who execute manufacturer instructions without questioning, only considering how to implement them well. They know there will be difficulties, setbacks, and dissenting voices, but they believe "success = goal minus interference" and never abandon the goal due to interference.
  • The distributor's network and customer relationships in the chosen market. Without a mass base, there is no base. The better the customer relationships and the more outlets, the higher the probability of successful product promotion. In conventional channels, customer relationships' push effect far exceeds brand pull. For new products, there is no brand pull; sales speed and volume depend entirely on store owners' product recommendations—this is channel push. Without good customer relationships, even heavy promotions may not move stock. So, focused fishing requires long-term maintenance of customer relationships. Why do some people's businesses grow? Because they have many friends, not because they grew big and then got friends. It's the same in business: as more outlets have good relationships with you, your business improves.
  • Market consumption representativeness. Population size must be representative; a small county town of tens of thousands is not representative or convincing. Consumption capacity must be representative; a high-consumption market selling premium products may have high sales but not be representative, as remote areas may not sell such products. So, target market selection must be precise.

Second, target specific consumer groups. Why did Brain Platinum succeed? Precise consumer targeting played a key role. The product targets the elderly, but they are often reluctant to spend money. Who usually buys it? Young people, mostly to show filial piety to their parents.

Promoting to a specific age group based on product attributes is the "chronological promotion method."

So, we see Brain Platinum's ad—"Send Brain Platinum as a gift"—with its precise slogan and two energetic elderly people, sparking consumer imagination and creating a sales storm.

Third, target specific channels. "Fishing" in specific channels means selecting channels based on product characteristics for promotion.

Channel selection is a science. Many salespeople start blanket distribution without analyzing the product's consumer positioning, resulting in effort without results, feeling wronged despite hard work.