This is a completely different new era of architectural ceramics, whether you admit it or not.
At the national macro level, the macro economy has entered a period of overall low growth, mainstream consumer groups are iterating significantly, and aesthetic and cultural regional differentiation is serious. China's ceramic tile consumer market has entered a period of obvious differentiation in levels where diversified demands coexist.
The construction and ceramics industry itself has also followed the east wind of reform and opening up, riding on the high-speed rail of macroeconomics, and has been advancing all the way. It has passed its peak era, and after frantically chasing production capacity expansion, it has reached a period of comprehensive reshuffle that it will inevitably face.
At the same time, the wheel of the times is rolling forward, and the myth of the Internet of Everything has stepped down from the altar, and it is really happening around you and me. As a result, the penetration of Internet thinking and models into traditional building ceramics, the intervention of new decoration companies and various pre-marketing methods, coupled with the full implementation of the policy of finely decorated housing, the terminal market channels have fissured overnight, and traditional retail has collapsed. fell.
Whether it is the current macroeconomic situation of the country, consumption iteration, the inevitable trend of industry development itself, or the arrival of the Internet era and the implementation of new policies, they are all intensifying and confirming the arrival of a new era of building ceramics, adding fuel to the flames!
"Spring River Plumbing Duck Prophet", the dealers fighting on the front line are often the most sensitive to the market.
From the end of June 2018 to December 2019, the research team composed of the author and his team, during the terminal’s long-term in-depth tour of the East China market, surveyed 13 cities, interviewed more than 300 dealers one-on-one, and accumulated business trips It lasted for more than 130 days, with 8 implementation activities, more than 90 research manuscripts, and more than 250 large and small videos.
Judging from the fact that the author has received a large amount of feedback on the real situation in the first-line market: the situation of the dealer group can be described as suffering. So, what exactly is the market situation like? How is the dealer situation? How have consumers changed? What differences exist among regional markets? As a dealer and manufacturer, how should we respond?
You might as well follow the author's writing and take a look at the most realistic terminal.
●Industry status quo: the only constant is change
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, this is a very different era.
The golden age in your memory, when "if you dare, you will get money" and "the ceramic tile production line is the banknote printing line", has long since passed away. Instead, there are empty stores, rising rents, increasingly transparent prices, and an era of thinning profits.
Walking around in terminal home furnishing stores, what you often see is that except for the store salesperson, there are no other people in the entire store. Therefore, the appearance of the research team is often scrambled by many store salespeople. "Soliciting customers" and even repeatedly following the group to lobby group members into stores to learn about its products. In many home furnishing stores, the appearance of the team once broke the cleanliness of the store and caused a small commotion. You can imagine how cold the terminal stores are. "We've been sitting here for two or three days, and there's not a single soul around. You are the first wave of people in the past few days." A store clerk of a certain brand said.
The era of concentration in your memory, where "the world knows you as soon as you cast your name on CCTV" and "you become famous as soon as you advertise", has also died. Instead, it is an era of mass communication withtotal distraction. In this era, there is a lot of noise and noise. You are lucky, your brand has become popular, and even you think it is very strange: it may be popular on Weibo or Douyin, but before you understand what happened, the popularity has expired and died out. Unlucky, maybe you went into Jinshan Yinshan to advertise and promote your brand, but you didn't get there. But after you finally got there, within two days, you were overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the times and the noise that filled the sky. Submerged, entering silence...
Focus communication, in the new media era, one person can be a media person, attention is completely scattered, and focusing is even more difficult. I believe that the marketing department of the brand has a deep understanding of this. Even the terminal and research teams often have agents complain: "Our brand has been launched on CCTVAdvertising, but it seems that many consumers don’t watch TV much anymore, and now they don’t know how to build brand awareness! ”
Also,Consumers’ tastes are becoming more and more difficult to control; product styles are becoming more and more niche, scattered and diversified; as for the fission and differentiation of sales channels, customers are being diverted and cannibalized, and the market in first-tier cities is The cold and active rural markets, and even the huge lethality of cross-border robberies, have all added fuel to this anxious era.
The scary thing is that it seems that all these changes happened in the blink of an eye.
Times have changed, but in the midst of this change, people and companies at the forefront of this era are still dazed, or have not yet accepted or are not willing to admit the fact that this new era has arrived. Intentionally or unintentionally, they are still determined to use the set of war experience that they have worked hard to achieve glory in before to continue to deal with the war in the new era that is already very different.
Being crushed by the times is like using the cavalry phalanx of Qin Shihuang to unify the six countries to fight against the tanks and armored vehicles of World War II. You can imagine how brutal it is. "I don't know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I am in this mountain"——Such tragic events often happen to most people who have not been able to escape the limitations of the times every day. They have been happening in turn.
Of course, there are also a group of people who see the changes clearly, and they work hard to find ways to adjust themselves and adapt to the changes. As a result, various corporate changes and brand strategy changes and adjustments have occurred. Due to the new era of our own, everyone is in the adapting and exploratory stage. As a result, oscillations in the industry have occurred. This oscillation in turn has accelerated the evolution of changes, making the changes sustainable. It is not surprising that it happened.
So:The only constant is change.
●Strategy 1: Accept the facts, change is possible
So, in the face of such times, how can we save ourselves?
The author believes thatthe first thing to do is to truly see clearly the overlap of times and the fact that changes have taken place, and accept this fact unconditionally. This point is very important. If you fail to fully understand this point and still take chances with the future, you will sooner or later drag yourself into the abyss of eternal destruction.
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, both the macroeconomic and the policy dividends of reform and opening up have been released; and the development of building and sanitary ceramics has entered its comprehensive reshuffle period after the end of the golden age. It is reversible; at the same time, the new generation of consumer groups has the right to speak, and their consumption habits and aesthetics have undergone tremendous changes; the diversion of complete decoration, fine decoration, and circle marketing by Internet companies and cross-industry alliances have brought irreversible changes to Jiantuo .
“This year is the most difficult year in the history of building ceramics, but it may still be the best year in the future!” This is a statement that many public figures in the industry agree with.
What the author wants to say is: No matter how glorious the past era is in your memory, how you were made into an immortal hero and made a lot of money in the rolling world of the times—— It's all history.
If you want to still have a future and not be ruthlessly abandoned by the times, the first step you have to do is: Accept the difficult status quo of the current industry from your heart and subconscious, be prepared for a protracted war, and give up all luck.
●Strategy 2: Find the trend of the times and connect with your own enterprise< /span>
"Standing in the wind, a pig can climb a tree", this sentence is very vivid. Now that times have changed, and the original channels, consumer market positioning, etc. are not consistent enough with the new era, then we might as well find out where the new era’s trends are and use new equipment, talents and concepts. system.
There are two meanings here that need to be clarified. First, carefully observe the times.and the market, carefully observe the user group, carefully observe the trend direction presented by channels, etc. Second, carefully reflect on your own positioning - this will be elaborated on later.
“Decision-makers of enterprises must have two eyes, one eye to look at the overall situation of the outside world, truly understand the overall situation and macro, and clearly understand the position of their own company in the macro;The other Just look at the inside of the company, your own heart and behavior, see how the company is positioned, see whether it is moving forward unbiasedly towards the goal, see whether there are deviations in your own heart and behavior and correct them. "This is a quote from the industry. The author thinks that what a senior leader of a company said makes sense.
As for the trends of the times, the author believes that "new retail", cooperation with packaging companies, cross-border cooperation in the nature of cross-industry alliances, circle marketing, Internet celebrities (large traffic IP) to bring goods, etc. , are all worth considering. In addition, a large number of more innovative marketing methods and tools derived from the Internet are also worth trying. What needs to be clear is that all these innovations cannot deviate from the company's precise positioning.
●Strategy 3: Say goodbye to extensiveness, return to refinement and reposition< /span>
Third, facing the downturn and reshuffle stage, companies should deeply reflect and introspect, see and think clearly about corporate positioning, consumer portraits, and pinpoint your user base. After accuracy, the entire system is adjusted and adapted.
In the past 30 years, the construction and ceramics industry has been in line with the pulse of the times and shared the dividends of policies. Its developmentis too rapid and radical. It can be said that it has always been in a state of extensive and rapid development. , therefore, the entire industry has always lacked the concept and awareness of refined positioning.
However, if you look closely, it is not difficult to find that a group of forward-looking brands, because they have clear positioning and focus on brand building in the early stages, appear to be calm and leisurely in the face of a major reshuffle in the industry, and instead exert their best efforts. its advantages. This is why the author and his team discovered in the terminal market that there are some small but beautiful companies with precise and clear positioning and a group of real first-line brand companies, as well as some companies that have no brand at all.Brand, that’s why merchants who just make low-end products with peace of mind have done well in the past two years. On the contrary, companies whose brands are neither rising nor falling, and whose positioning is vague and unclear, are facing a tragic cliff-like decline.
So, how to do repositioning?
The author believes that we can start from the following ideas. When necessary, it is recommended to find a professional third-party company to assist. For example, are your products and brands positioned as high-end or low-end? Should we take the high value-added route or the cost-effective route? Is it targeting the elite class that controls 80% of society’s wealth or is it targeting the general public at the bottom of society? The positioning determined by all these factors will ultimately determine your product style as well as your channels, marketing methods, advertising methods and platforms.
●Strategy 4: Look beyond building ceramics to explore new markets and discover new channels
In fact,The reason why everyone is helpless in the current construction of ceramics is mainly because the industry circle is too narrow, which leads to the situation of "not knowing the true face of Mount Lu, just because of being in this mountain".
As the saying goes, "A stone from another mountain can be used to attack jade." Sometimes, what we have to do may be to break the boundaries and cross-border to see what other industries are like. Looking beyond the construction of ceramics, it may not be surprising to find new discoveries. .
For example, in the previous activities organized by China Ceramics Network, during the discussion on the end market of the industry, we were fortunate enough to invite the person in charge of the Wenzhou Home Expo to share on the scene. He proposed: The building ceramics industry, especially the ceramic tile industry, has been struggling with Innovation in ceramic tile color and texture, but in factIf ceramic tiles can solve the problem of rapid template paving, it will undoubtedly create a new blue ocean. A key problem with the low "turnover rate" of ceramic tiles is that it is too troublesome and difficult to change them after they are laid.But if a similar collage template can be used to lay them, it will greatly induce Change clothes multiple times to increase the "turnover rate", thereby achieving the purpose of creating a larger market. After all, ceramic tiles are like the clothes in a room. If they were easy to change, everyone would want to change them.There is a sense of freshness.
At the same time, similar functional tiles (heating floor tiles) and ceramic slabs - used in office countertops and other fields, also deserve attention. In addition, the second-hand house decoration market, the old house renovation market, the redecoration market of finely decorated houses, etc. are also worthy of attention.
●Strategy 5: Integrate resources from multiple parties, leverage each other and work together
I remember attending a new product launch conference for imported tiles not long ago. In addition to new ceramic tile products, the conference site also linked a luxury brand’s high-end customized clothing catwalk and a luxury brand’s auto show. The on-site display gave people a sense of class. It is quite tall, rich in content and three-dimensional. In fact, this is a perfect operation of integrating resources and leveraging each other.
The author believes that in addition to leveraging each other in press conferences and anniversary celebrations, ceramic tiles can also work together in promotion and display, and there are indeed many successful cases. According to the author’s terminal research interviews, terminal dealers often conduct cross-industry alliance activities with brands in the home furnishing, lighting and other industries, which not only reduces activity costs and customer acquisition costs, but also increases the passenger flow of the overall activities, with obvious results.
Practical cases: Sharing of several specific successful operation cases
I have written a lot, all of which seem to be more theoretical and can be understood as the level of "Tao". In fact, the author's research team has been wandering around the terminal and has also seen many strategies from the level of "technique". Now I will share them here as follows.
First, break through the second-hand housing and redecoration market. This part of the strategy is mostly used in the Shanghai area. Due to Shanghai's urban development planning restrictions, the proportion of new buildings is relatively small.However, large-scale renovation of old houses and renovation of second-hand houses gradually occupy a considerable proportion.
How to break through this market? Brand owners in Shanghai mainly use several methods:1. Cooperate with intermediary companies to obtain information sources on second-hand houses; 2. Cooperate with kitchen and bathroom product brands to obtain information sources on old house renovations. Because the old house is the first to lag behind in terms of kitchen and bathroom functions and cannot meet current needs, the first step will be to renovate the kitchen and bathroom. 3. Cooperate with a professional second-hand house decoration company to obtain relevant information on old house renovation; 4. Go to communities with concentrated old houses that are 10 to 15 years old to conduct relevant promotion activities and obtain relevant information.
Second, use the bricks for balconies as the entry point to enter the residential areas that have been decorated. Since many finely decorated houses do not include balcony decoration, the bricks used in the balcony area have become a missed fish in the finely decorated houses. Although the balcony is not large and the amount of bricks used is small, if done well, positioning professional balcony bricks is undoubtedly a direction that cannot be underestimated.
Third, use the background wall as the entry point to break the low-profit curse of decoration cooperation. Some of the ceramic tile products covered by the complete installation often require additional money, such as special background wall tiles. Then, through some high value-added background wall tile products, we can attract cooperating decoration company designers to lead owners to select materials. After completing the purchase of background walls, we can also find ways to recommend other tiles to customers to make them switch. Ceramic tile products in the initial package package. Of course, this does require some sales skills, but it’s not impossible. The author interviewed a dealer at the terminal. In this way, his order volume and the value of cooperation with the assembly company were greatly improved.
Fourth, Risk control is crucial when cooperating with an assembly company. As a trend, decoration companies have really come to us and have a huge impact on ceramic tile circulation channels. Its development momentum is so rapid that it seems that it has not been affected by the waves of bankruptcies. The successive waves are like a new era. Therefore, cooperation with assembly companies has become inevitable.
Based on the wave of bankruptcies, assembly companies have become a mixed blessing in many material supplier systems. In particular, for many ceramic tile terminal agents, how to cooperate with the installation company is particularly important. If you don’t cooperate, you will lose a favorable trend channel. If you cooperate, you will worry about the security of funds.
During the terminal research process, the author learned from many dealers about their cooperation models, the core of which is the issue of capital risk control. Most of them use advanced methods to control, such as: collecting advance payments, granting reasonable credit, understanding the financial status of cooperating decoration companies through multiple channels, etc. Of course, it is more secure to choose a local leading decoration company to cooperate with a complete decoration company.
Secondly, when cooperating with a complete assembly company, you can also choose to cooperate in the form of a half package, turning your own exhibition hall into a material selection library for the entire assembly company and gaining more initiative. Third, set up a decoration company workshop, design room, etc. in your own exhibition hall to guide customers into the store to select materials and negotiate, etc.
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Although in this dark night of the building materials industry that has been crushed by a new era, if we rely on simple waiting or traditional business models, we will not be able to survive the dawn. However, we only need to accept the reality that the darkness will last for a long time. , be prepared for a protracted war, then it’s not a bad idea to create the dawn yourself! After all, there are more ways than difficulties, right?
