Text | Everyone's Wine Review Content Center Li Xupeng
"We are becoming a wine porter, and our core customer resources are constantly being lost."
"The pressure of e-commerce competition is too great, and wineries can't manage so many platforms."
"How is it possible not to reduce the price? If you don't have a discount, you can't sell it, and if you drop the price, you lose money. It's hard! ”
……
Time enters 2024, and the life of the liquor dealer group is becoming more and more difficult. This difficulty is not only affected by the current macroeconomic environment, but also constrained by manufacturer policies and market competition. So what are the specific difficulties faced by dealers, and how to get rid of this dilemma?
Dealers who are "trapped at home and abroad".
The survival dilemma of liquor distributors is mainly manifested in the following aspects.
First of all, macroeconomic weakness and lack of demand are the main problems facing dealers at present. Affected by the domestic and foreign economic situation and the diversification of consumer demand, the demand for liquor consumption market is relatively weak. This makes dealers face tremendous pressure in the sales process, and overstocking and poor sales have become the norm.
Second, the adjustment of manufacturers' policies has triggered a chain reaction. On the one hand, with the acceleration of the C-end operation of manufacturers, shorter chains and more efficient cooperation with consumers have become a better option, and traditional dealers have become dispensable. On the other hand, many manufacturers choose to put pressure on dealers for the sake of outstanding sales performance. The routine operation of "payment first, then pressure goods" makes dealers need to bear more inventory costs, and poor sales further exacerbate the tight cash flow.
In addition, the transparency of product prices leads to lower profits. With the rapid development of the Internet and e-commerce, product information is more easily accessible, and consumers are more sensitive to price. This makes the price of the product gradually transparent. Taking bare-bottle wine as an example, the profit of most of the best-selling bare-bottle wine products does not exceed 10 yuan per bottle, and some products even only cost a few cents. The bargaining space of dealers is compressed, and the profit margin is also reduced, which also leads to a lack of motivation for dealers to participate in marketing.
Finally, the competitive pressure brought about by channel diversification is huge. In addition to traditional offline sales channels, more and more brands are beginning to try new channels such as online sales and live streaming. These new channels not only attract a large number of consumers, but also intensify the competition between channels. Dealers face competitive pressure from multiple channels, making it extremely difficult to maintain market share. Taking an emerging soy sauce wine brand distributor as an example, the peak sales of Pinduoduo channels have robbed him of more than 40% of his orders, and the price inversion problem is also very serious. He had no choice but to urge manufacturers to seriously pursue the responsibility of online channels. However, there is no more binding force other than a statement that "online purchase of products does not bear after-sales". Should the online store sell or sell.
Where is the dawn of the game?
In the face of the current business difficulties, dealers need to actively look for ways to break the situation to meet the challenges and seek development.
First of all, optimize the agent product structure to stimulate new demand. Dealers can understand the needs and preferences of consumers through in-depth market research, so as to choose more competitive products in the market. At the same time, we actively communicate and cooperate with manufacturers to obtain better product supply and price support to meet market demand and enhance competitiveness. Generally speaking, it is easier to achieve a balance of interests between large single products of famous wines and new products with strong subsidies.
Secondly, the careful selection of cooperative brands is also an important means to break the situation. Liquor distributors need to evaluate the market potential, product quality, brand reputation and other factors of the brand, and choose those brands with long-term development potential and stable income to work with. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to industry dynamics and trends, and adjust cooperation strategies in a timely manner to respond to market changes. Some liquor products obviously have a good flavor and a good market response, but manufacturers are frantically pressuring distributors in order to quickly achieve sales targets, resulting in rapid inversion of product prices, and dealers suffer losses.
Third, quickly dispose of non-performing assets to ease cash flow pressure. Dealers can quickly dispose of overstocked inventory and non-performing assets through discounted sales, clearances, and other means. At the same time, strengthen inventory management and risk control capabilities to avoid the recurrence of similar problems. The cyclical development law of liquor leads to great price differences between liquor with different flavor types in different periods. While choosing to purchase in large quantities, dealers must be wary of fragrant hot foam and choose truly high-quality products.
Fourth, following the trend and participating in new marketing is the key to enhancing competitiveness. Dealers need to actively embrace emerging technologies such as the Internet and e-commerce, and use platforms such as social media and short videos for brand promotion and product promotion. At the same time, we will explore the integration of online and offline sales models to expand sales channels and improve customer experience.
Finally, maintaining high-end customers is also an important measure to stabilize market share. Dealers can meet the needs and expectations of high-end customers by providing personalized services and customized products, and establish long-term and stable cooperative relations. At the same time, strengthen customer relationship management and maintenance capabilities to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
To sum up, dealers need to take multi-faceted measures to deal with and break the current business dilemma. By optimizing product offerings, carefully selecting partner brands, quickly disposing of non-performing assets, engaging in new marketing, and maintaining high-end customers, dealers can enhance their competitiveness and meet market challenges to achieve sustainable development.