How can the county-level market in the flooring industry adapt to the new environment

“The Chinese people’s loyalty to the brand is not high. I don’t think that our economic development level has yet reached that level. Now the people are very real. You just buy it at a reasonable price. Most people don’t think that he bought this brand. His identity can be shown." This is the phrase that Zong Qinghou said in 2002 twelve years ago.

If you still insist on this argument, it is dangerous! How to adapt to change?

Brand level: Actively changing from a dealer to a brand dealer. More than a decade ago, there were very few media groups that could be contacted by the county-level market. “CCTV advertising + wall advertising” is our conquering of the county-level market and even some small and medium-sized flooring industries. The golden partner of the brand's national promotion. However, with the improvement of channels for local TV channels, the development of terrestrial channel content, the in-depth popularity of online media, the extension of various brands of stores to the county level, and the word-of-mouth communication of floating population, a broad and profound brand education has been completed. . In other words, county-level market from the mainstream to the general population, all under a category, which brands, which are international brands, which are domestic brands, which are high-end brands, which are low-end brands, have a basic impression. The next challenge for the brand is to win consumers and become a valuable brand in the minds of consumers. The cold, purely operational mode of channel pressure is passing. This is a cruel reality.

Similarly, under this premise, those in the middle of dealer groups who cannot adapt to the brand transformation of the county-level market may experience a decline in sales and profits. They must learn to transform themselves into "brand merchants" at the county level market. One is a floor distributor using a multi-brand distribution system, which can create a brand for its own stores or outlets so that consumers or lower-level customers can see “Some building materials line” or “XX building materials supply”; One is to use a brand franchise, it is to assist the upper reaches of the enterprise to achieve a brand, and grow together with the development of the brand. Both of these require a certain amount of intellectual, energy, and financial input. That is to say, dealers' profits may be affected in a certain period of time, but they will surely obtain corresponding premium returns after the brand is established. This is a very real problem.

Service level: First, the service provider and the distributor are in the county-level market. The townships under the jurisdiction of many counties can be found in various places. Due to their resources or location advantages, their economic development may be better than the county, such as parks, mining, or agriculture. Animal husbandry, etc., and all townships can be distribution points or retail outlets for county-level dealers. At this time, the distribution and service capabilities of county-level flooring dealers are very important. In addition, there are no major single-demand requirements for township outlets, and sometimes they are one or two orders. How to meet the requirements of low-cost and high-efficiency delivery is the challenge of service capabilities.

This is actually a challenge and an advantage. Because the county-level market is cheaper than the service cost of the city, there are many ways to reduce costs. And if the service is done, the word-of-mouth effect and nepotism in the county market will bring you more and more customers. Therefore, the initial logistics and other service costs are investments, not inputs.

Channel level: intensive farming, maintaining a price space, there is a saying: "The elderly in the county will be online, channel change can not block."

The changes brought by e-commerce networks to county-level consumer groups are not as slow as we have imagined. During the Spring Festival in 2013, a noticeable wall advertisement frequently appeared in the county towns and even towns and villages. “If you want to live well, you should quickly embark on Taobao.” According to Alibaba’s National County Area Online Shopping Development Report, the data show that in 2012, China’s county average per capita Online shopping 54 times, more than one second-tier cities per capita online purchase 39 times. WeChat is also widely used and frequently applied in the 3rd and 4th markets.

Massive online promotions and price information allow them to see more, know more, and become more sensitive to prices and promotions. How to continue to maintain the local price space in this case is a very fatal problem. A large number of consumers will compare the products on the mobile phone store to question your prices. The situation of the original county-level floor distributors will become extremely high. This time only from the following four aspects of intensive cultivation, can maintain this price space.

Paste: Open the store to a place close to the big brand and use its passenger flow;

Coupling: Differentiating between big brands and products, emphasizing the profitability of single products, and earning the corresponding expenses for new and incoming flooring brands that are not familiar with the local market, and doing accessories and after-sales installation services for them;

Close: Before the big brands walk into the community, approach customers, improve customer profiles, enter home through free activities such as home visits, floor repairs, replacements, and maintenance of old customers, and recommend extended purchases and cross-shopping based on customer conditions, such as cabinet products. , wardrobe products, etc.

Extension: To expand the channels at the township level and expand the network to find new market growth points.

Product Level: Functionality, Design as a Breakthrough In the past, during the ten years of rapid growth of the building materials industry, some flooring companies thought that “as long as the channels are well laid out, what can be sold under the covers” is out of date.

The requirements of the county market for the product itself will be higher and higher. In the county towns of these 80s and 90s, the young people who received the first-line market information and influence of fashion penetration will be more inclined to purchase floor products that they feel are more fashionable, even international products. Therefore, the function of the product and the design style will change. The past situation of relying on a low-price strategy alone to open the county-level market will never return. Products for county-level markets must be more functional in terms of functionality. Only in this way can county-level channel dealers with limited comprehension capabilities quickly grasp product selling points and promote and sell more effectively.

For enterprises, how to design and communicate slogans in selling points is more important than designing a more concise, more penetrating, and more easily replicating communication plan for county-level markets. Although the formal channels of brand marketing in county-level markets are limited (large media are few), it does not mean that there are limited resources. There are public agency leaders, large shopping or recreational outlets, plazas, county commercial main roads, important building walls, etc. All of them can become carriers of the dissemination. If they are actively integrated and used, they may have a tremendous explosive force.