Lecture 5: How to improve sales network coverage

Key points of this lecture

Two problems that must be solved in sales work

Coca-Cola 22 types of sales networks for products

Winning or losing is decided in the retail store

Sales work includes a lot of content, from developing dealers, to promotion, to distribution and tallying, and finally checkout. Collecting payments requires a lot of work. So what exactly are the problems to be solved by doing this work? For example

Two problems that sales work must ultimately solve

How to present products to consumers

Consumers do not buy products in the manufacturer’s warehouse , nor do they buy products in dealers' warehouses, nor on the roadside. Consumers buy products in thousands of retail stores. Therefore, the first problem that sales work needs to solve is what kind of sales network the manufacturer uses to place the products from the manufacturer's warehouse to supermarkets, chain stores, specialty stores, grocery stores, and retail stalls. , so that consumers can see the product and buy the product when they want to buy it. This is the first problem that sales work must solve.

1. Traditional sales network

Sales network refers to the channel through which products move from the production field to the consumption field. The traditional sales network consists of manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Each system member is an independent economic entity, each pursuing the goal of maximizing profits, even at the expense of the profits of the entire network system. No network member can completely Control other members.

Figure 5-1 Type diagram of traditional sales network

2. Vertical sales network

A vertical sales network is a unified system composed of manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.

Any member of a vertical sales network either owns or grants exclusive rights to other members, or has great power to force other members to cooperate. The vertical sales network can be dominated by manufacturers, wholesalers or retailers.

Figure 5-2 Vertical sales network type diagram

How to penetrate products into consumers' hearts

Faced with a dazzling array of products, how can companies make consumers buy them? What about your own products instead of buying other companies’ products? This has always been the center and key of corporate marketing efforts, and this problem needs to be solved through terminal market operations.

The terminal market network is the most important network in the enterprise sales network. Enterprises may not need first-level wholesalers, second-level wholesalers, or third-level wholesalers, but they cannot do without the terminal market. The terminal market is both the place where enterprise products are ultimately sold and the place where consumers purchase enterprise products.

1. Only by seeing the product can you increase the chance of purchasing it

Procter & Gamble has this sentence in the "Sales Representative Training Manual": The best product in the world, even with the best advertising support, unless consumers can Get them at a sales store, otherwise they won't sell.

This sentence is very profound. Even if a company has the best products in the world and the most powerful advertising support in the world, if consumers cannot see the company’s products when they come to a retail store, they will buy them. Without the company's products, the company's products cannot be sold.

2. The best display of products in retail stores

Today’s retail store shelves have become a valuable business resource. It has become difficult to place products in retail stores because the battle for shelves is now increasing. The more intense. Many companies are considering how to get their products into retail stores and how to get more shelf space and better display locations for their products. However, the display space in retail stores is very limited. If the company does not make extra efforts, it will not be able to let consumers see the company's products in the retail store, and the company's products will not be sold.

■Expand the display of products in the terminal market

The first issue that enterprises must consider when doing business in the terminal market is to increase the coverage of products in the terminal market and expand the coverage of products in the terminal market. The display of the market enables the company's products to meet more consumers, thereby making it easier for consumers to purchase.

Case

Revelation of the failure of "Haohao" fruit tea

In the 1990s, there was a company in my country that produced "Haohao" fruit tea, and its sales were very high. It is booming, and the demand for products exceeds supply. Dealers have to wait in long lines to get payment for goods for more than a week before they can get the goods. Faced with such a good sales situation, the boss of the company was so proud that he boasted that he had defeated Jianlibao in Haikou in three years and Coca-Cola in five years. However, more than ten years later, Jianlibao Group was successfully transformed and Coca-Cola stood firm, but this company had long since closed down. One of the important reasons is that the company neglected the construction of terminal networks.

■Coca-Cola’s “Three A” Strategy

Coca-Cola products have been able to sell well in the world for more than a hundred years because it has many unique marketing secrets. Coca-Cola's marketing secret is its "triple A" strategy: affordable, accessible, and enjoyable.

Among them, availability means that no matter whether the consumer is in the day or night, no matter whether the consumer is in the city or in the countryside, as long as the consumer wants to drink Coca-Cola, it is guaranteed that the consumer can buy Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola's "triple A" strategy captures the terminal market.

Case

Coca-Cola increases consumer purchasing opportunities by increasing terminal market coverage

In the film "No One Less" directed by Zhang Yimou, there is this A plot: In a very poor and backward mountainous area, when primary school students want to drink Coca-Cola, they can buy Coca-Cola locally. Coca-Cola increases product sales opportunities by increasing its terminal market coverage and placing its products in front of more consumers. Today, Coca-Cola has developed its network strategy, from the past "triple A" strategy to the "triple B" strategy; from the past emphasis on consumers being able to buy it, to today's emphasis on making Coca-Cola products ubiquitous.

22 sales networks for Coca-Cola products

Coca-Cola products are sold through 22 networks. It is through this dense spider web sales network that Coca-Cola products are spread to every corner of the world, allowing every consumer in every market and every region in the world to drink Coca-Cola anytime and anywhere as long as they want to. See Coca-Cola, buy Coca-Cola.

1. Traditional network - food retail network

That is, through fixed places, counter transactions, and service by salespersons. This channel is generally a store that sells daily necessities such as food, beverages, cigarettes, wine, and non-staple food, such as food stores, food shopping malls, non-staple food stores, non-staple food shopping malls, vegetable markets, etc. This type of network mainly serves family consumers and shoppers. .

2. Supermarket network

It has a fixed place, open shelves display of goods, quantitative packaging, clearly marked prices, consumers choose products, no salesperson service, export one-time payment settlement, electronic settlement, low prices, large sales volume . Supermarkets that sell food, beverages, daily necessities and other commodities mainly serve household shoppers. The network includes independent supermarkets, chain supermarkets, supermarkets in hotels and shopping malls, and wholesale supermarkets. Markets, supermarkets, warehouse supermarkets, etc.

3. Affordable shopping mall network

That is, the operation method is basically the same as that of supermarkets, but the difference is that the operation scale is larger. Compared with supermarkets and self-selected markets, it attracts consumers with lower retail prices of goods, so it is also called For affordable shopping malls. The gross profit margin of affordable shopping malls is generally controlled at 5% to 10%. Such shopping malls obtain profits through large passenger flow and high sales. Therefore, they often adopt strategies to encourage purchases and lower prices in beverage operations.

4. Grocery store network

Usually located in residential areas, using residential or temporary buildings and kiosks, small shops that mainly sell daily necessities such as food, beverages, cigarettes, wine, condiments, etc. Such as convenience stores, convenience stores, mom-and-pop shops, canteens, etc. The characteristics of grocery stores are that they are widely distributed to facilitate residents to purchase nearby. They have small windows, few product displays, indoor display, long business hours, and are random.

5． Department stores and department store networks

are comprehensive retail stores that mainly sell a variety of daily necessities and industrial products. They are mostly located in prosperous commercial areas and are generally large and medium-sized. The varieties, colors, and specifications of the products are Relatively complete. The store is divided into product departments and product counters. It implements multi-department professional management, complete service facilities, and relatively advanced management and management. It can meet the diverse shopping needs of consumers and is suitable for consumers' travel, leisure, and shopping. In addition to food supermarkets and food counters, this type of store often has fast food restaurants, cold drink rooms, coffee shops, cold food cabinets, etc.

6. Shopping and service network

That is, stores and service industries that deal in various types of professional goods, mainly non-dietary food. Since the network operates fewer varieties, it can improve the technology and service quality of the operation. Because of its important geographical location, it also operates beverages for the convenience of consumers.

7. Restaurant network

That is, hotels, restaurants, restaurants of various grades, including coffee shops, bars, cold drink shops, etc. This kind of network provides consumers with dining out and beverage services, which are always served by service staff and finally settled in a unified manner.

8. Fast food network

That is, providing beverage services to consumers while dining in fast food restaurants. The fast food network has a fixed location, complete equipment, and is sold by waiters. The varieties are selected by consumers, and the catering fees are settled uniformly. Fast food restaurants tend to have lower prices, higher customer traffic, shorter meal times, and higher sales.

9. Street stall network

That is, there is no fixed house, and stalls are temporarily occupied on the street. The sales equipment is simple and run by unemployed people. They sell beverages, food, cigarettes, wine and other activity stalls to serve pedestrians. Self-operation is the main sales method.

10． Industrial and mining enterprises and institutions network

That is, industrial and mining enterprises and institutions use public funds to order goods to employees in order to solve the problem of beverages at work, prevent heatstroke and cool down during work breaks, and distribute beverages on holidays

Beverages are provided at the national summer heatstroke prevention and cooling fee, and the amount varies depending on the business's operating conditions.

11. Public agencies network

That is, companies, corporate offices, groups, agencies and other offices place orders with public funds, entertain guests, provide employees with drinks for work and heatstroke prevention, and distribute drinks on holidays.

12. The army barracks network

is provided by the army logistics department to meet the needs of officers and soldiers in their daily life, training, and the army's entertainment and holiday parties. Generally, there is also a canteen selling food, beverages, daily necessities, etc., and retailing to military officers and soldiers and their families.

13. College and university network

That is, canteens, cafeterias, and coffee stands located in residential education facilities such as universities, colleges, technical secondary schools, and vocational colleges, providing learning, Lifestyle and various beverage and food services focused on on-campus activities.

14. The primary and secondary school network

refers to the canteens located in non-residential schools such as primary schools, middle schools, vocational high schools, and private primary and secondary schools, providing after-school beverage and food services to school students. Some primary and secondary schools provide beverage and food services after school hours; some primary and secondary schools provide students with morning snack services, lunch services, and beverages.

15. On-the-job training network

That is, canteens located in various party schools, employee education schools, professional and technical (professional skills) training schools and other in-service re-education schools to provide beverage and food services to in-service employees studying in schools .

16. Sports and fitness network

It is a counter located in a sports and fitness venue that sells drinks, food, cigarettes, and wine, sold by waiters, and serves people who perform sports and fitness, or a food and beverage counter located in a competition venue , providing beverage service to those watching the game.

17. Entertainment venue network

That is, food and beverage counters located in entertainment venues, such as movie theaters, concert halls, dance halls, etc., provide beverage services to consumers during entertainment activities.

18. The transportation station network

provides beverage services to tourists abroad. The service locations are at kiosks in airports, train stations, terminals, bus stations and other places, as well as providing beverage services on trains, planes and ships.

19. The hotel network

refers to hotels, restaurants, inns, hostels and other places that provide accommodation, catering and entertainment to outbound travelers. The occasions where beverage services are provided include catering, entertainment and room bars or attached canteens, etc. .

20. Tourist attraction network

Food and beverage outlets located in tourist attractions, such as parks, natural landscapes, cultural landscapes, urban landscapes, historical landscapes and various cultural venues, etc., that provide services to tourist visitors. Fixed location, over-the-counter transactions, larger sales volume, and higher prices.

21. Third-party consumption network

That is, various wholesalers, such as secondary wholesalers, wholesale markets, wholesale centers, commodity exchanges and other beverage sales networks with wholesale as the main form. This network is not consumer-oriented. It is just a transit link in product circulation.

22. Other networks

That is, product exports, gifts, direct sales to consumers, as well as various product fairs, food expos, bazaars, temple fairs, various promotional activities and other forms and places for beverage sales .

Coca-Cola signed an agreement with the State Post Bureau of China in 2000, which means that when consumers go to the post office to send letters, if they are thirsty, they can buy Coca-Cola without leaving the post office.

Coca-Cola has 22 networks in China to distribute its products, so Coca-Cola products are ubiquitous, making it a dominant player in the food industry.

Self-inspection

Victory or failure is decided in the retail store

Analysis of consumer purchasing behavior

After the company places its products in the retail store , is the product guaranteed to be sold? Not necessarily. There are a dazzling array of products on the shelves of retail stores. When consumers enter the retail store, they are faced with a dazzling array of products. How can we make consumers face so many products and make the decision to buy our own products instead of other companies' products? decision. The purchasing behavior of consumers is often affected by the sales scene. Good promotion work at the sales scene can stimulate consumers' desire to buy and make consumers decide to buy the company's products instead of other companies' products.

1. Six Issues in Consumer Purchasing Behavior

Figure 5-3 Six Issues in Consumer Purchasing Behavior

In real life, consumer purchasing behavior will be affected by many factors. , for example, it is affected by personal factors such as age, gender, occupation, economic status, and lifestyle, as well as psychological factors such as motives, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes. It is also affected by social factors such as social class, related groups, family, and culture.

2. Internal and external factors of consumer purchase intention

Needs, motivation, cognition and learning are the internal factors of consumer purchase intention; small groups, reference groups, society, family, culture and promotional activities are the factors of consumer purchase intention. external factors of will.

Figure 5-4 Internal and external factors of consumers’ purchase intention

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The so-called planned purchase means that consumers have already made plans in their minds before walking out of the house. With a clear purchase intention, that is, what brand of product they want to buy today, when they come to the retail store, they will go straight to the product counter, select a product of this brand, and after paying, their purchasing activity is over. . However, this category of consumers accounts for a small proportion of the entire consumer group.

■Impulsive buying

The purchasing behavior of the vast majority of consumers is randomly determined and is impulse buying. That is, after consumers come to the retail store, their minds There is no clear intention to purchase, and it is extremely easy to be impacted by advertising and exquisite packaging

to make a purchase decision.

It is changed by various factors at the sales site, such as store displays, advertising materials, etc. A survey conducted in 1994 showed that 83.6% of people made unplanned purchases, that is, random purchases (impulsive purchases); 91.6% of people made the decision to purchase a certain brand product in a retail store. In developed countries, 28% of consumers have already decided which retail store to go to and which brand of product to buy before going out; 72% of consumers' purchasing decisions depend on the influence of accidental factors at the sales site.

Figure 5-5 Proportion of consumer purchasing behavior in developed countries

Since most consumers’ purchasing decisions are made at the sales site, as long as companies can do a good job in the terminal market Promotion can stimulate more consumers to buy the company's products and give up buying other companies' products. Practice shows that a reasonably rational consumer before entering a retail store will also engage in some degree of impulsive buying behavior after entering the retail store.

Stand out among competing brands

There are many companies’ products on the shelves of retail stores, including those of competitors. If the company's products are submerged among many competing brands, and consumers cannot see the company's products when they arrive at the sales site, then for consumers, it is equivalent to the company's products not existing.

How to get consumers to buy our products? After a company's products are placed in terminal stores, it must use a variety of promotional activities to differentiate its products from those of its competitors in order to attract consumers' attention. For example, you can use various methods such as display, packaging, POP, and counter packaging display to differentiate your products from those of your competitors, make your products stand out from the crowd, and immediately attract the attention of consumers. Now is the era of attention economy. The current competition is to attract consumers’ attention. As long as you can attract consumers’ attention better than your competitors, you will have more chances of success than your competitors. Therefore, promotion in the terminal market can make the product stand out among competing brands, thus stimulating consumers' desire to buy.

Summary of this lecture

Sales networks have different types depending on the products produced by the company. There are five types of traditional sales networks. The latest development in the development of sales networks is the emergence of vertical sales networks and their challenges to traditional sales networks. Vertical sales network systems can control network behavior and eliminate conflicts caused by independent network members pursuing their own goals. It achieves its economic goals mainly by relying on its scale of operations, bargaining power and elimination of duplication of services.

The Coca-Cola Company displays its products to consumers in the best possible image through 22 sales networks. In the marketing strategy of Coca-Cola Company, effective sales network is one of the most important parts. Coca-Cola Company emphasizes that the success of the company can often be seen from the performance of the sales network of Coca-Cola products on the market. The Coca-Cola Company's sales network (i.e. terminal construction) places great emphasis on scientificity and standardization, and its experience is worth learning from.

Terminal promotion is to use the original advantages to create new advantages among the many competitive advantages in the target market, and constantly establish and maintain the leading position of one's own brand, so as to achieve the purpose of boosting product sales.

Experience

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Lecture 6: How to perform terminal operations on the sales network

Key points of this lecture

How to strengthen hard terminals

How to make soft terminals well

How to display and display products well

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Management Quotes

Mastering the "effective terminal" is the overlord, and being close to the "target customers" is the winner.

There is a saying among Chinese enterprises that whoever makes terminals well and masters terminals will become the market winner. The terminal is the point of sale and the gateway for converting corporate products into currency.

Terminals play an important role in marketing activities in the corporate market, and terminal effects have become an important means of driving sales. At present, there are two main methods for terminal operations in our country: hard terminals and soft terminals.

How to strengthen hard terminals

Main publicity forms of hard terminals

Generally speaking, hard terminals mainly have the following publicity forms: indoors such as POP, Taiwan Cards, posters, standing cards, cabinet stickers, hanging flags, product models, light boxes, posters, promotional materials, packaging bags, price lists, etc. Outdoor ones such as display boards, shopping guides, awnings, banners, street signs, car bodies, etc.

Each form of hard terminal facility has its own different characteristics, different display locations and different display contents, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. In the specific operation and implementation, they should give full play to their respective strengths and adhere to the principle of unity; insist on long-term development and planned implementation; insist on pursuing all-round and three-dimensional audio-visual packaging in order to form a brand atmosphere.

Success Stories of Hard Terminals

In the 1990s, Huiren Group started from a small pharmaceutical factory in a remote county in Jiangxi and has grown into a company with annual sales of more than one billion today. Yuan Pharmaceutical Group, one of the successful experiences of Huiren Group is the operation terminal. Taking its flagship product Huiren Shenbao as an example, it implements the "Four Ones" project in terminal promotion.

The first "one" is a light box. In the market in Zhengzhou, Henan, more than 95% of pharmacies have Huiren Shenbao light boxes at the door. In this way, no matter whether the consumer is sitting on a bus, driving a private car, riding a bicycle, or walking on the road, as long as the consumer passes by the pharmacy, he can see the door of the pharmacy. Huiren Shenbao light box, I immediately knew that this drugstore was selling Huiren Shenbao. The second "one" is a Taiwan card or a display board advertisement. After the consumer walked into the pharmacy, he saw a display board advertising Huiren Shenbao at the door. He looked up and saw a promotional banner for Huiren Shenbao. When he walked into the store, he saw a POP advertisement and Taiwan card for Huiren Shenbao on the counter. Promotional materials, Huiren Shenbao is displayed on the shelves. The third "one" is to place the product in a conspicuous position. Huiren Shenbao emphasizes concentrated display of products, large-scale display, and good display position. The fourth "one" emphasizes a good customer relationship. If a consumer asks the salesperson, which kidney drug is most effective? The first brand product recommended by salespersons to consumers is Huiren Shenbao. Huiren Shenbao's light boxes, POPs, desk cards, promotional materials, display boards, and banners are all hard terminals.

How to make a good soft terminal

Soft terminal is more important than hard terminal

1. The difference between soft terminals and hard terminals

The difference between soft terminals and hard terminals is that hard terminals are tangible, visible and tangible, and can be assessed and managed using quantitative indicators; while soft terminals It is intangible, invisible and intangible, but it has rich connotations and extremely important content.

2. The key to the success of promotional activities lies in soft terminals

If a company does not have good soft terminals, most of the hard terminals will be difficult to implement and play their due role. Many companies now have their own shopping guides and promoters in terminal stores. These shopping guides and promoters introduce products to consumers and recommend products to consumers. They play an irreplaceable role in terminal promotions. Terminal promotion personnel are generally women, either full-time or part-time. Through promotion work, they provide etiquette services, shopping guide services, product promotion, information collection, market research and public relations activities.

The status of a brand among similar products is reflected by market share, and share is first reflected in the presence of terminals, that is, the distribution rate.

How to improve objective and reasonable distribution rate, construction of hard terminals