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To choose the right business direction, we must first solve the four major puzzles

For dealers, choice is more important than hard work. To a large extent, successful distributors have caught sight of the development trend of the industry, grasped the products that can lead the market in the development process, and received the correct guidance and resource support of the manufacturers. They are destined to succeed from the source. The market is flourishing, and it has become a well-known local brand distributor. Some dealers are not so lucky. At the beginning, with the passion of the factory staff, they raised funds, opened stores, and bought goods in full, looking forward to a good life of making a fortune. When I really started to do marketing, I discovered that the products that were originally thought to be unique are similar products everywhere in the market, and I had to promote them, but they were still unable to reverse the slow-moving situation. And the factory personnel who promised to “call me if there is any problem” did not appear, there was no way to exchange goods, the marketing cost of the substitute pad could not be honored, and the distributor had to shut down in tears. I believe that every dealer has heard of similar business scenarios, or has seen it, or has experienced it. Is the dealer himself wrong? Is the manufacturer irresponsible? Everything is over, the dealers will lose the most, and the biggest gains left to the dealers are the lessons and experiences. In addition to the differences in the operating capabilities of the dealers themselves, the choice of categories and brand manufacturers by the dealers also determines the success or failure of the dealers.

In recent years, products from all walks of life have been introduced faster and faster to meet the ever-changing consumer buying needs and the operating needs of channel members at all levels. Generally speaking, it has been in an absolute oversupply stage. As a distributor, in the face of numerous products and brands, how to choose products and brand manufacturers that suit their own market competition and their own business needs has become a core issue that plagues the dealers’ management. To sum up, when dealers choose categories and brands, there are four main confusions:

1. What is the real purpose of increasing the business category or brand?

The development and growth of distributors is often accompanied by an increase in the scale of business performance, an increase in business categories and brands, an expansion of regions, and an increase in personnel. But many dealers have not understood the essence of business from beginning to end? As a distributor, we all know that the primary purpose is to make money, but if we do not understand the nature of business and blindly expand, we will not be able to achieve the intended purpose. What’s more serious is that many distributors lack a clear long-term development plan and business philosophy. With continuous expansion, they will gradually lose their business direction and fall into development difficulties. In the dealer group, the idea and starting point of dealers to increase categories and brands are different in appearance, and there are mainly the following three types:

First, the comparison type.

This type of dealer thinks that the scale of the industry he currently operates is too small, and Boss Zhao, who is next door, sells products in a large industry. Seeing other people’s daily gains, he is no worse than Boss Zhao. Why can’t he enter? This mountain looked at the high mountain, blindly compared, and tried every means to enter a new industry.

Second, the resource maximization type.

Such distributors believe that they have some resources, such as a very complete channel network and customer resources, and customers also need other categories of goods. Why can’t I find manufacturers of these categories and sell them to customers? What? Or from an internal point of view, the categories that I currently operate have obvious off-peak seasons, and I want to increase the off-season products to balance the business. In this way, I entered an unfamiliar industry category in a vague way.

Third, the market takes all.

Some dealers believe that they are selling high-end products, and some customers need low-end products, so they lose a piece of the market. Why can’t they also sell a low-end brand? Customers at all demand levels have been dealt with, and the entire market has been monopolized.

The above three dealer management mentalities also correspond to different selection methods and methods for increasing categories or brands. At the same time, it is necessary to analyze concretely from the two aspects of the external market and the internal status quo in order to truly successfully introduce new categories and brands.

2. Choose a familiar industry or an unfamiliar industry?

It is true that many distributors like to enter the industry that they are familiar with, no matter whether it is the first start or the follow-up operation. In fact, this is indeed the case. The dealers now operate in industries that are more or less related to the industry. For example, they have worked in manufacturers in the industry, or have served in other distribution companies in the industry, or their own Relatives or friends are also doing this business. These tight or loose connections indicate that they are more or less familiar with the industry and have certain resources and experience to use. From the psychological point of view, they feel more secure, that is, we usually Said “knowledgeable”, this will bring a lot of convenience to the actual operation. Some dealers believe that although there are many resources available in the familiar industry, dealers in certain industries are not willing to re-enter some of the unspoken rules of the industry, such as the early health care products industry. Conscience makes money and loses basic social morality. Some dealers know that competition in some industries is fierce, triangle debt is prevalent, and operations are very difficult. When dealers have the opportunity to enter these once-familiar industries again, most likely they will not enter the industry again and choose other industries. In fact, with the rapid changes in demand, industry segmentation and category innovation are getting faster and faster, and dealers have more and more choices. For dealers, new industries that are relatively unfamiliar will gradually cultivate and develop from a market perspective; from the perspective of operating strategies, they can learn from the successful experience of other industries and bring greater operational motivation and gains. From the perspective of the distribution market, the primary factor that determines our entry into the industry is “how much market size and potential the industry has in the region”, or whether the products of the industry to be entered are required by regional customers and whether they can meet the needs of customers demand. As long as consumers have unmet needs, dealers can introduce this industry in the region, regardless of whether they are constrained by whether they are familiar with the industry.

3. How to analyze a specific industry?

At present, it is quite difficult for practitioners in the dealer group to analyze whether an industry is worth entering. In communication with some dealers, dealers often ask questions such as “How is the ×× industry now? Is it profitable?” It is really difficult to answer specifically, especially for some newly emerging industries. , And often some successful people are people who dare to eat crabs. For example, the promotion of solar water heater products in rural township markets 10 years ago and the promotion of water purifier products 5 years ago were the first batch of distributors to achieve success. If you ask these dealers how they analyzed it in the first place, they may not be able to answer specifically, but they may say, “The urban people have used these for a long time, and the rural people must use it if they have money, and enjoy a good life. It’s just time.” Wait, how simple and simple it is to tell the real analysis and judgment process of these dealers when they entered the industry. In fact, when dealers choose to enter a new industry, they must watch and walk more, learn more about market information, and have a say in investigations. If you have a general intent on a certain industry product, you can inquire about network information, participate in industry exhibitions to learn more, and you can also go to some neighboring markets for on-site inspections. These are very effective analysis methods. If the products of this type of industry are already sold locally, it is necessary to learn more about the specific business level and target customer groups.

4. How to choose a manufacturer? Should you choose a big brand manufacturer or a small brand manufacturer?

What type of brand manufacturers should choose to cooperate with depends on the specific circumstances of each dealer. There is no uniform standard, but there are some basic rules to follow. Small-scale distributors have relatively weak channel networks, operating experience and financial strength, and teams, but they have entrepreneurial passion and execution ability, so they want to find big brand manufacturers to cooperate and get more resource support to facilitate market operations. The big brands happen to have strong marketing capabilities. For large distributors, the company’s operations are already on the right track. If they want to take advantage of their own resources, they need to find some small manufacturers with high gross profit to operate. At the same time, some small-brand manufacturers are also in need of such large brands due to lack of resources. Distributors come to fully operate the market and quickly enter the market. This is what we often say “big companies look for small dealers, small companies look for big dealers”. Manufacturers in all walks of life basically have this mentality. Conversely, dealers also have their own views, “I look down on small businesses and can’t stand large enterprises”. This is also the main psychology for many dealers to choose manufacturers. Many distributors engaged in the fast-moving consumer goods industry know that big brands do not make money, they can only bring goods, and the goods are severely suppressed. Distributors are purely porters, and they have no status or right to speak. Then there are the core considerations for dealers to choose brand manufacturers. For small-brand manufacturers, dealers pick and choose, taking advantage of the small-brand manufacturers’ eagerness to seize the market, and trying their best to strive for more cooperation and support policies. The right one is the best. The success of distributors depends largely on the choice of a manufacturer that suits the development needs of distributors. Outstanding manufacturers can lead distributors to grow together, expand the market, and win wealth. Manufacturers can achieve each other, give full play to their own advantages, and form a close community of interests and honor.