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Articles by 苗庆显
Browse 79 New Distribution articles by 苗庆显.
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Don't Fall into the Trap: In the Era of Failing Big Brands, It's Not About Consumer Individualization!
When pigs, cattle, and sheep complain about poor conditions, you should tell them, 'There are wolves outside.' For a long time, 'individualization' has been politically correct: products, brands, and promotion methods should all be individualized. However, the most successful products are those that everyone uses, and the internet has made people more conformist, not more individualized. Understanding the dual nature of conformity and individuality is key to effective marketing.
苗庆显Is New Retail Failing, or Is Your New Retail Failing?
As the typhoon passes, pigs that fell and broke their backs are everywhere. Since 2019, the biggest business story has been the failure of various 'New Retail' concepts. Alibaba's Hema is adjusting and filling pits; Sanjiang is divesting Hema, and Hema Xiaoma has fully ceased operations. 7FRESH, which claimed to open 1,000 stores in 3-5 years, has recently had its president reassigned and halted expansion. Meituan's Xiaoxiang Fresh is closing stores, and Yonghui's Super Species losses continue to widen. If even these 'new species' with internet giants as backers are struggling, the 'monsters' without support are left to face the market's 'golden cudgel'.
苗庆显The Safest Marketing: Invest 100% of Resources in 5% of Key Matters
This article introduces the 'Seven Laws of Buttons' in marketing, emphasizing the importance of focusing on key matters rather than being driven by urgent but unimportant tasks. It argues that the safest marketing strategy is to invest all resources into the 5% of key actions that can trigger significant changes.
苗庆显How Many More 'Victims' Will the 'Terminal is King' Trap Claim?
The 'terminal is king' strategy, which emphasizes investing heavily in retail terminals, is one of the biggest pitfalls in marketing. It often leads to misallocation of resources and ignores the importance of brand building and consumer communication, ultimately causing failure for many companies.
苗庆显How Professional Is the Marketing Profession, Really?
Marketing requires elite input and mass output. The gap between professionals and amateurs in marketing is vast, yet the industry lacks clear standards, leading to widespread amateurism. True expertise demands deep knowledge and deliberate practice.
苗庆显Positioning: The Biggest Scam in Chinese Marketing, or the Idea That Most Influenced American Marketing?
This article questions the claim that positioning is 'the idea that most influenced American marketing,' suggesting it may be a fabricated myth used to promote the theory in China. The author cites lack of evidence in US sources and controversies among American marketing scholars, while criticizing the dogmatic and misleading practices of positioning advocates in China.
苗庆显"No Middleman to Earn the Difference" Is the Biggest Marketing Lie (Continued)
Although "the consensus of fools" is also consensus, it quickly collapses once the trend passes. In recent years, various industries have been swept by a trend of "disintermediation." This trend demonizes middlemen and distorts business laws. Many people, under the banner of "removing middlemen," become middlemen themselves, claiming not to earn the difference while profiting from both sides. Many manufacturers, who actually operate B2B2C businesses, are misled into directly selling to consumers, only to find themselves doing more work for less profit.
苗庆显New Retail Is Not the Rebuilding of 'People, Goods, and Places', but the Rebuilding of 'Production, Supply, Wholesale, and Retail' Relations!
The competition among value chain members is superficially a conflict of interests, but in essence, it is a conflict of discourse power. The saying 'the shop bullies the customer, and the customer bullies the shop' is an eternal business principle. Although the concept of 'New Retail' was proposed as early as 2016, 2018 is the first year of New Retail. This year, various New Retail species began to gain momentum, traditional retailers started their New Retail transformation, and original retail formats also put on the New Retail hat. From manufacturers and brand owners to distributors and logistics providers...
苗庆显Farewell to 'Marketing Myopia': Every Day is Double 11!
Modern marketing has evolved to Marketing 4.0, driven by values, interaction, big data, and communities, yet most companies still rely on intuition and assumptions. This article argues that many businesses suffer from 'marketing myopia,' mistaking sales channels and promotions for true marketing, and emphasizes that genuine marketing, focused on customer needs, is the key to sustainable growth.
苗庆显Don't Be Fooled by 'New Retail' – It Aims to Control Brand Owners, Distributors, and Secondary Wholesalers!
Ma Yun's 'New Retail' is actually 'New Commerce,' which seeks to rebuild the entire supply chain from production to retail, with retailers (platforms) at the core. Brand owners must build their own brand traffic to avoid being subsumed by New Retail platforms.
苗庆显7 Minutes to Master 120 Years of Marketing Evolution: Let's All Play Guru
To quickly grasp the history of marketing, start with one person: Philip Kotler, the father of modern marketing. Understanding the evolution of his marketing thought gives you a clear framework for all marketing theories and methodologies. Modern marketing began with Kotler's first edition of "Marketing Management" in 1967, which integrated traditional concepts like market research, advertising, and selling into a new, innovative science.
苗庆显Have You Been Counted as Money for 'New Retail'?
This supply chain reshaping is primarily a direct confrontation between brand owners and retail platforms. Ma Yun's concept of 'New Retail' has turned the industry upside down, with the most successful applications in fresh food, while brand owners are warned to be cautious as the new rules favor retail platforms.
苗庆显Marketing = Communication: Like It or Not, This Era Has Arrived
This article discusses the concept that marketing equals communication, tracing its origins from Ye Maozhong's early proposition to Liu Chunxiong's '4P is all communication' in the internet era, and delving into Schultz's Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) theory. It explains four key concepts of IMC—all contact points, information flow, unified communication, and interaction—and argues that in today's digital environment, interactive communication is the only efficient marketing method, urging marketers to adapt or risk being left behind.
苗庆显The First Pitfall of Niche Marketing: Mistaking Segmentation for Niche
Niche products naturally carry topics, which is precious in an era of information overload and scarce attention. The brand advocacy brought by niche will be the brand's greatest asset in the future.
苗庆显No Comparison, No Harm; No Harm, No Business?
Consumption is never a personal matter but a matter relative to others. Social comparison drives consumer behavior, and marketers leverage this instinct to boost sales.
苗庆显World Cup Vulgar Ads: Children Distinguish Beauty and Ugliness, Adults Only Consider Pros and Cons
For most Chinese brands, building brand salience is the most critical and fundamental step. During the World Cup, which occurs every four years, human hormones are at their peak, and advertising during this period can be highly effective if used well, despite criticism of 'brainwashing' ads.
苗庆显The "Ye Maozhong-style Brainwashing" at the World Cup: Have You Been "Conflicted"?
Brainwashing originates from creating and resolving conflicts. This article analyzes the success of "vulgar" advertisements like Zhihu and Mafengwo during the World Cup, attributing their effectiveness to Ye Maozhong's conflict theory, which creates and resolves conflicts to leave a deep brand impression.
苗庆显Why Is Jiangxiaobai's Sales Still Far Behind Laocunzhang Despite Its Hype?
Jiangxiaobai has achieved phenomenal success in communication, but its sales volume is not commensurate with its fame. The article analyzes the reasons behind this discrepancy, arguing that the brand's attempt to cultivate a new drinking culture among young people is an uphill battle, and its brand image conflicts with traditional drinking scenarios.
苗庆显Distributors Who Are Always 'Doomed' – How Are They Doing Now?
Distributors won't be eliminated, but that doesn't mean you as a distributor won't be. The idea of 'no middlemen taking a cut' is unreliable, but the 'disintermediation mindset' is real. In recent years, distributors have lived in fear of being eliminated. Some have accepted their fate, joining large companies as professional managers, while others have tried to transform by going online or becoming manufacturers, with mixed results.
苗庆显Li Jiaoshou's Missed Shot Is No Big Deal; Sharpshooters Are Made of Bullets!
Rumors are often true, and Li Jiaoshou has indeed left Baidu. Despite his failure in practice, his marketing methodologies remain valuable, and all marketers should learn from his dedication to consumer communication and behavior.
苗庆显The 7 Laws of the Button: You Can't Do Marketing Without a Bit of Philosophy
The safest marketing for a company is to invest 100% of its marketing resources into the 5% of key matters. There are always people around us who seem 'unlucky'—they are warm-hearted, always ready to help, hardworking, and conscientious, yet they often face misfortune, financial hardship, and poor health, with many ending up in bleak old age.
苗庆显Deep Insight | "I'll Destroy You, It's Nothing Personal," "Nonsense! If I Don't Make Mistakes, No One Can Destroy Me"
Fools are blind to what's happening, but the wise see what's coming. Before the era abandons you, it will give you a few hints. People tend to blame their failures on the times, but in reality, the signs of decline are always there if you look.
苗庆显How Many People Have Been Fooled by the Saying 'Real Men Do Sales'?
An interesting phenomenon: men do marketing, women do sales. Sales requires empathy and self-motivation, traits where women often excel, while marketing requires rational analysis and planning, which suits men better. Many young men are misled into sales careers, but sales is not suitable for everyone, and marketing offers greater professional opportunities.
苗庆显The Big Pit of "Terminal is King": How Many More "Victims" Will It Bury?
The final push is important, but would China's football team win by fielding ten strikers? Terminals are where products are sold, often called the "final kick," and are crucial. However, overemphasizing terminals can lead to resource misallocation and failure, as marketing is a holistic system.
苗庆显