How to tap the "potential stocks" among customers

How to tap the "potential stocks" among customers

Chen Zhigang 2007- 165438

The purpose of establishing a scientific and reasonable retail customer classification system is to find core customers, tap potential customers, allocate resources in a targeted manner and provide personalized services for customers. So, how to tap potential customers? The author believes that the focus should be on how to scientifically formulate service improvement measures and realize the promotion of customer categories. Below, the author combines his own practical work experience and talks about how to carry out this work through a customer example.

I. Basic information and operating conditions of customers

Basic situation

Store Name: Wen Qi Store

Person in charge: Sun Moumou

Business address: Wolong West Road, dagang town, Yandu District, Yancheng City

Business area: 30 square meters

Operation time: 3 years.

Business category: y 221(at the end of the first quarter of 2007), belonging to customers with business potential.

Current situation of cigarette business:

In the first quarter of 2007, the order quantity was 946 units; The number of customers at this level in Yancheng Regional Tobacco Hotel is 271; The minimum sales volume of the top 20% big customers is 1449. Therefore, its customer classification can only be medium-sized customers in tobacco and liquor stores (Y22 1).

This retail customer is located in the market town business district (the intersection of Xinjun Road and Wolong Road in dagang town, east of Wolong Bridge), and there are three licensed business households (all grocery stores, 1 household is a big customer, and 2 households are middle customers) 50 meters east. The surrounding business environment mainly includes industrial parks, hotels, guest houses and residential areas. , with a certain fixed consumer groups and strong business capabilities. During its operation, it was once rated as "civilized model of cigarette retail".

Second, the customer promotion objectives

Comprehensive analysis: According to the above situation, it is considered that this customer has certain space and potential for category promotion and belongs to the key target customer for category promotion.

The promotion target set for it is: at the end of the second quarter, the commercial format category will become the main customers of rural law-abiding tobacco hotels (that is, from Y22 1 to Y 12 1).

Third, the basic working ideas

SWOT analysis is used to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of customers and the opportunities and threats brought by the external environment, find out the weak links of customers' cigarette business, formulate targeted service improvement measures and implement them, and finally realize the promotion of customer categories.

Fourthly, SWOT analysis of cigarette management in Wen Qi store.

(1) S- advantage analysis: From the point of view of the store itself, after several years of development, the store has certain operating strength, reasonable product portfolio width (covering retail price 15 yuan ~ 800 yuan/article), reasonable commodity inventory, rare backlog and shortage, high success rate of ordering on time, able to complete orders on time and accurately, and actively promote the company's cigarette retail. The overall operation ability of the store is relatively ahead of customers of the same category in the same region, and it has been rated as "civilized demonstration household of cigarette retail" and "two-star household" for many times in the course of operation, which has a good reputation among consumers; From the operator's point of view, the shopkeeper attaches great importance to the cigarette business (cigarettes account for more than 60% of his business projects), and can actively cooperate with the company's cigarette sales at ordinary times, and completely purchase goods from tobacco companies, with high loyalty. They can master the knowledge of cigarette products by browsing tobacco websites and other channels, improve their own quality, and are good at constantly summing up and innovating in practice, and have accumulated rich experience in cigarette sales in the course of operation; This shows that customers have certain sales growth potential from both stores and operators.

(2)W- disadvantage analysis: in terms of display facilities, the placement of cigarette retail counters is not eye-catching and prominent enough, which brings inconvenience to consumers; In terms of commodity display, the layout of cigarette single package samples is scattered, the key brands of cigarettes are not prominent enough, the level is not obvious enough, and the area of cigarette samples is insufficient; In terms of recommendation ability, there are not many methods to promote new products, which can not accurately segment consumer groups and fail to adopt effective management methods for different consumer groups; In collecting information, we can't fully and actively grasp the information about cigarette consumption demand around us, and our ability to analyze and use information needs to be improved; In terms of service attitude, the communication with consumers in the business process is not deep enough, lacking initiative, the use of civilized language is not standardized enough, and the degree of patience is slightly lacking.

(3)O- opportunity analysis: From the social environment, dagang town, Yandu District, has a good economic development momentum and a high degree of industrialization in recent years, and is known as the "hometown of shoe machines in China". A good economic development environment can better drive consumer demand including cigarettes; Geographically, customers are located in the business circle of the market town, facing south, at the intersection of Xinjun Road and Wolong Road in dagang town, and on the east side of Wolong Bridge. There is a large flow of people around, and there are certain mobile consumer groups. Cigarette consumption brands are not fixed, which is suitable for the cultivation and sales of new brands. Judging from the operating environment, there are mainly hotels, guest houses and residential areas around the store. After several years' development, there has been a certain fixed consumer group, which is suitable for the sales of mature cigarette brands. The Italian Shoe Machine Industrial Park, which is 100 meters east of it, is under construction, which has certain business opportunities and huge growth potential for potential consumer groups.

(4)T- threat analysis: Since the formal implementation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in China in 2006 1 month, the tobacco industry will be more and more severely restricted, and cigarette consumption will gradually decline; 50 meters east of the customer, there are three licensed cigarette operators, all of which are grocery stores, of which 1 is a big customer (opened by his father) and the other two are medium customers, with limited threat. 40 meters to the west, there is an unlicensed business owner who is applying for a license (but the store location does not meet the requirements of cigarette layout, so the chance of winning the bid is small). Judging from its business scale, it has certain business strength. If it is included in the cigarette marketing network, its business ability should be at the level of Z 12 1, which has certain potential threats.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) marketing measures

From the above analysis, we can see that this customer has obvious advantages and opportunities, and the disadvantages are mainly concentrated in cigarette display, commodity display, recommendation ability, information collection, service attitude, etc., which can be improved through certain measures and the threat is relatively small. According to this situation, the following business strategies are mainly adopted for this customer:

(1) SO strategy (growth strategy): under the background of improving economic development, make use of existing geographical advantages, good business foundation and reputation, seize potential business opportunities, increase cigarette investment, appropriately expand cigarette business scale, and fully tap business potential.

(2) WO strategy (reversal strategy): formulate effective measures to reverse the disadvantages of its own business, seize and make good use of external development opportunities, and constantly improve its business capabilities. Specific service improvement measures are as follows:

1. Determine the business focus: At present, the three elements of the business category evaluation index are relatively stable, only the business scale (mainly refers to the order quantity) is in a changing state, and the level of the category in the same business format is mainly affected by the business scale. Therefore, customers are advised to focus on improving business scale, grasp the characteristics of seasonal sales, increase the order proportion of low-grade cigarettes, and improve the order quantity and business scale of next season.

2. Improve the cigarette display facilities: It is suggested that customers rearrange the store display, put the cigarette display counter and shelf in a conspicuous position in the store, especially arrange a shelf behind the cigarette retail counter for the whole cigarette sample, increase the sample area of cigarettes, give consumers more visual influence and facilitate consumers to buy. In addition, the logo of the doorplate was changed from the original "Wen Qi Wholesale Department" to "Wen Qi Alcohol and Tobacco" (the customer's creativity), which highlighted the operating characteristics of the store as a tobacco hotel and made it more distinctive.

3. Design merchandise display: This customer's shop faces south, and there are two cigarette counters. In order to highlight the cigarette structure, it is suggested that zero-package cigarettes should be placed from east to west according to high-grade to low-grade, and each cigarette should be listed in two packs, with a price tag on the front, which can write the propaganda slogan (customer creativity) of the brand cigarette manufacturer, increase the cultural atmosphere of the goods and the cultural taste of the store, and also show the noble temperament of the owner.

4. Enhance the recommendation ability: First, distribute publicity materials of new cigarettes such as Rouyang Jiaozi, Camellia, and Yellow Crane Tower. Give it to customers, and advise customers to highlight the characteristics of cigarettes, such as price, quality, taste, packaging, etc. To help target consumers in customer orientation; Second, it is suggested that customers take the initiative to promote, smoke cigarettes, chat with consumers and other ways to improve affinity, so as to narrow the distance and enhance feelings; The third is to publicize the tar content, nicotine content, smoke carbon monoxide content and manufacturer's advertising language of key brands of cigarettes to customers, so as to increase their commodity knowledge and enhance their promotion ability. In addition, the customer proposed to make the image logo of our store and paste it on the high-grade sample cigarettes, which not only highlighted the reputation of the store, but also showed that it was based on honest management, enhanced safety precautions, and reduced and eliminated disputes arising from cigarette quality. This is also a good idea.

5. Provide information support: First, provide customers with valuable consumer demand information, and advise customers to understand the basic situation of the new employees' native place and taste according to the changes in the surrounding business environment (such as the construction of the Italian shoe machine industrial park), change the business structure in time, increase the procurement and publicity of cigarettes produced in their hometown, expand consumer groups, and enhance the business scale; Second, provide timely information such as tobacco company's sales policy and cigarette price adjustment to help customers improve their business strategies and carry out targeted publicity and promotion; Provide sales information of other customers with the same format, so that customers can adjust their order plans in time and do a good job in sales.

6. Improve service methods: First, advise customers to strengthen communication with consumers, understand consumers' consumption habits and brand hobbies, conduct targeted publicity and recommendation, improve consumers' loyalty and satisfaction, and stabilize and expand their own consumer groups; Second, it is suggested that customers pay more attention to the opinions and suggestions of consumers in the course of business operation and pay attention to continuous improvement and improvement; Thirdly, it is suggested that customers should pay attention to constantly summing up and accumulating experience in the process of operating services, learn advanced service skills from others by browsing tobacco newspapers and tobacco websites, and learn from them selectively.

7. Provide order support: First, increase the frequency of visits, insist on visiting one day in advance every week, inform customers of the available sources of goods this week, recommend key brands to them, assist them in making purchase plans, and improve the order rate; The second is to mobilize customers to participate in mobile phone ordering, change the ordering mode, grasp the supply situation in time, and enhance the initiative of ordering; The third is to inform customers with similar formats to sell, help find the gap, and realize self-adjustment and promotion. The fourth is to maintain a reasonable inventory, check its inventory situation every week, guide its inventory, maintain a reasonable inventory, and avoid inventory backlog or shortage.

8. Help customers manage their finances: First, advise customers to appropriately increase the inventory of marketable varieties in the peak season of cigarette consumption to improve the supply satisfaction rate; The second is to help customers analyze the monthly profit of cigarette purchase, sale and storage, master their own income and expenditure, and improve the utilization rate of funds; Third, for unsalable brand cigarettes, increase promotion efforts and improve the capital turnover rate.

Sixth, the implementation effect

(1) The operation is in good condition: in the second quarter of 2007, the order volume was 843 units; The number of customers of tobacco hotels in Yancheng area is 278; The top 20% of the big customers have a minimum sales volume of 830 pieces and have entered the ranks of big customers.

(II) Format upgrade: At the end of the second quarter of 2007, the format was upgraded to a major customer of a tobacco hotel (Y 12 1).

(3) Satisfaction improvement: After the category improvement, customers get more goods, services and information support from tobacco companies, and also win more profit space for themselves, thus further enhancing their loyalty and satisfaction with tobacco companies.

Seven. summarize experience

(1) Select a potential customer. Due to the influence of many factors such as business environment, ability and personality, customers' business ability varies widely. When upgrading customer categories, we should choose customers with great business potential and high quality in all aspects.

(2) determine the focus of work. In the case of relatively stable retail format, market type and law-abiding situation, the focus of upgrading customer categories should be on upgrading business scale, which can guide the formulation of other service marketing measures.

(3) service measures should be targeted. Before providing marketing suggestions to customers, it is necessary to comprehensively and concretely analyze the current operating conditions of customers, find out the weak links and formulate targeted service improvement measures.

(4) Pay attention to timely tracking and improvement. For the problems existing in the service process, it is necessary to help customers analyze the reasons in time, formulate improvement measures and rectify them so that they do not deviate from the predetermined goals.

(five) to mobilize and give play to the subjective initiative of customers. On the one hand, customers should actively support and cooperate, on the other hand, they should give full play to their subjective initiative to achieve better results. For example, in this case, changing the image logo of the house number, marking the slogan of the manufacturer corresponding to the cigarette brand on the price tag, making the identification logo of our store and pasting it on the high-end cigarettes are all customers' own ideas, which have also received good results in practice.

As "Bole", account managers tap potential customers, which is to find "swift horses" among customers, and give full play to their potential by providing them with high-quality personalized services, so that they can gallop on the road of cigarette management.