First of all, we need to understand several key control points related to the channel in the process of mooncake sales by analyzing the characteristics of mooncakes:
1, short sales cycle: the sales of moon cakes are mainly concentrated in the month before the Mid-Autumn Festival, so the inventory control of moon cakes has become one of the key points.
2. Short shelf life: The shelf life of moon cakes is generally within 45 days. Therefore, the purchase batch must be well controlled to ensure the products sold in the current month. Therefore, the purchase batch and the purchase quantity of each batch become the second key point.
3. Packaging plays an important role in product sales: therefore, the size of the product display surface, the display method and the number of displayed items become the third key control point.
4. Outstanding gift function: According to relevant market research data, consumers buy moon cakes and give them away more than they eat themselves. Therefore, how to make good use of its gift function has become the fourth key control point.
Let's first analyze whether the traditional sales channels of moon cakes match the characteristics of moon cakes, and then see if we can find countermeasures.
1, KA stores: RT Mart, Carrefour, Wal-Mart and other international chain stores are the battleground for moon cake suppliers every year, and they often strive for a relatively good display position. However, when the Mid-Autumn Festival ended, it was found that only one or two suppliers really made money in KA stores. Most suppliers will pull back a large number of moon cakes from their stores on August 16 (k a stores generally don't allow inventory adjustment before Mid-Autumn Festival), which really makes them want to cry, but there will be a new cycle in the coming year.
The author concludes that such channels have the following characteristics:
A. High threshold: Generally, entering such channels requires a lot of entry fees, which is also one of the reasons for high risk. I once met such a supplier, and the sales of moon cakes were not as high as the cost once they were stocked, which even led to the bankruptcy of small suppliers.
B. Long account period: The account period stipulated in the contract is generally 30-45 days, but it usually takes 2 months or more to really settle the payment within the account period, which requires the supplier to have certain financial capacity. Moreover, financial costs need to be calculated, and opportunity costs must be included here.
C, strong competition: For the store, every brand added will generate more income. Therefore, each store has at least a dozen brands and more than 30 brands at the same time. It is not easy to get a share in such fierce competition.
D, inventory control is difficult: KA stores usually give you a big order from the beginning to ensure that there will be no shortage. If you prepare goods for him in time and safely, you may fall into a trap. Goods here are generally easier to import than to export, and the operation and inventory control of moon cakes are one of the keys to success.
So what should we do for such a specific channel? According to the author's years of operating experience, I think we should pay attention to the following issues:
A. Functional orientation: First of all, it is necessary to make clear what the purpose of operating Ka stores is, whether to sell goods or make an image, and which is the primary function. The author thinks that sales is important, but for a supplier whose customer sentiment is not particularly prominent, it is suggested that the function be defined as the display of brand image. In addition, for large customers, you can take on-site bargaining and over-the-counter trading (which is forbidden by KA), so that you can get higher profits.
B. cost control: if you sell regular products in the store at the same time, you can save the cost of opening an account. If you are not sure how much sales you want to make, it is best not to talk about fixed fees as package fees linked to sales, such as deducting 25% of sales as expenses, so as to at least ensure no loss and reduce business risks.
C. Inventory control: strictly control the distribution quantity, especially those shops that can only enter and leave, and must adopt the distribution method of diligent delivery and less delivery (it is necessary to have a good relationship with the department head who places the order). Ensure uninterrupted delivery and low inventory. For example, the daily inventory of best-selling and promotional products is 20-30 boxes, and the daily inventory of conventional products is around 10 boxes. Promoters report inventory and sales volume every day, so as to make timely adjustments.
D. Customer control: The quality of customer relationship is particularly important for the operation of moon cakes. The main customers are: purchasing-can reduce expenses and shorten the account period; Store manager-can get the ideal display position; Group buying supervisor-he decides the main sales volume.
2. Chain supermarkets: Like Shanghai Hualian and Nanjing Su Guo, there are few products of big brands for sale, but more are local moon cakes. However, improper operation of such supermarkets may cause more losses than KA.
Chain supermarkets mainly present the following characteristics:
A. There are many stores: suguo supermarket has more than 400 stores in downtown Nanjing, and there are also many stores around it.
B, single store sales are low: This kind of supermarket has different store areas, ranging from convenience stores of one or two hundred square meters to supermarkets of tens of thousands of square meters. Therefore, the sales volume is also uneven, with a big gap, but the average sales volume is obviously lower than that of KA supermarket.
C, inventory control is difficult: because there are many stores, each store has one more box of moon cakes, which is hundreds of boxes of inventory.
D, the competition in the store is relatively weak: because this channel is not easy to operate moon cakes, many brands dare not enter this system, and only some local brands sell with some low-priced brands.
According to the author's experience, supermarket chains are not so terrible. I once sold millions for a customer in a supermarket chain. The key is how to control the terminal:
A. selective operation of stores: of course, purchasing will not let you choose stores at will, but you can generally agree on a certain type of stores. For example, suguo supermarket is divided into KA, A, B and C stores, and KA and some A stores can be selected for operation. This requires you to know these stores well enough to have a basic forecast of their sales. Generally, it is more appropriate to choose 30-50 stores in a market.
B. Active distribution: according to the sales volume and inventory reported by the promoters every day, the goods are constantly adjusted between stores.
C. product structure: the consumption power of consumers in such channels is obviously weaker than that in KA stores. Therefore, the products sold by chain supermarkets should be mainly low-priced products, such as products with unit price below 100 yuan; Or you can make some moon cakes in bulk. Although the profit of bulk moon cakes is not as good as that of boxed moon cakes, it has the characteristics of large sales volume and long cycle, which is incomparable to boxed products. The pricing of similar products should be lower than that of KA store, mainly based on quantity.
3. Department Store: This kind of channel can not be used as the main channel of moon cake sales, but only as a supplementary channel of sales, and some channels can be used as a display of brand image. It has the characteristics of low cost and small sales volume.
4. Network: In recent years, the network channel of moon cakes has greatly come from behind, and the main driving factor for consumers to choose online shopping is low price. Few dealers operate such channels, and most of them are operated by direct selling departments set up by manufacturers. It is suggested that mooncake manufacturers can launch personalized products according to the characteristics of consumers in such channels, which will be welcomed by the market. (It will be elaborated in product innovation later. )
5. Group buying: The characteristics defined by the author for this channel are nonstandard and unsystematic. Fully rely on the social resources of local dealers and some consumers with brand loyalty to bring sales.
The above is the author's analysis and summary of the traditional channels of moon cakes. Many manufacturers are looking for new sales channels outside these sales channels, such as postal channels and OEM channels.
1. Postal channel: This is a typical case of cross-industry resource sharing. Postal EMS has cooperation agreements with many enterprises and is rich in enterprise resources, which is the dream customer resource of all moon cake manufacturers. At the same time, after the postal system reform, the express delivery bureau began to be responsible for its own profits and losses. For the postal express office looking for profit sources everywhere, the high-profit moon cake is obviously a perfect product, and the two hit it off. A manufacturer in Guangzhou even signed a cooperation agreement with the State Post Bureau for self-owned branded postal services: homesickness month and postal month. More and more manufacturers attach importance to this channel, so more than a dozen manufacturers compete for postal resources to become a special landscape in the marketing field. In some places, postal systems and even learning supermarkets charge entrance fees, and the requirements for manufacturers are getting higher and higher.
Due to the rise of this channel, the author began to think: even if EMS can sell moon cakes, is there any other industry that can also sell moon cakes? The key is whether these two industries have the same consumer groups, so the author thinks:
Campus channels: Do college students need moon cakes? Maybe not, but now, because since 2008, the Mid-Autumn Festival has been on holiday. I believe that most students choose to go home and spend the holidays with their parents. Are they empty-handed? No, moon cakes are the best choice! As a result, a brand-new sales channel is about to emerge: organizing school group purchases through student unions or encouraging poor students to work and study.
Horizontal alliance: Cooperation with postal service is a typical case of horizontal alliance. Are there other industries with the same consumer groups? The author believes that the following industries have the possibility of cooperation: A. Insurance companies: the business personnel of insurance companies have rich customer information. Of course, they are not allowed to sell insurance and moon cakes, but to jointly promote with insurance companies, "buy insurance one month before the Mid-Autumn Festival and send a box of moon cakes"; B. Telecom, Mobile and China Unicom: joint promotion such as "sending moon cakes by charging phone bills"; C, department stores, electrical stores: joint promotion of "shopping over * * yuan, giving a box of exquisite moon cakes" D, gift companies, tobacco and alcohol specialty stores: customers with rich group purchase resources can become moon cake dealers;
2. OEM channel: Now all mooncake manufacturers will compete for one resource-the OEM order of the hotel. Therefore, many hotels and shopping malls have begun to adopt the way of bidding to reduce prices, and the profits of manufacturers are getting lower and lower. The so-called OEM can be defined as personalized packaging of moon cakes, and the packaging of moon cakes is used as a carrier to convey information such as the culture of other enterprises to consumers. Therefore, if moon cake packaging is understood as an information carrier, this market will expand infinitely. We believe that large enterprises can customize moon cakes, which can be customized for TV stations, schools, Amway and other direct selling companies, insurance companies and cinemas. ......
In short, moon cakes are a special commodity with special cultural connotation, special consumption habits and special sales time ... then it must have special sales channels. These are just some superficial ideas of the author. Every enterprise can build its own channel structure according to its own actual situation.