Text/Hong Xiaochun
"Mid-to-high-end customers pay more attention to cost-effectiveness." This sentence comes from Chen Qinxian, general manager of marketing of Xinzhongyuan Ceramics. A keynote speech delivered during the day. The reporter was fortunate enough to be present and listen and benefited a lot. Chen Qinxian used the positioning of BYD, Great Wall, and Geely, three car brands priced between RMB 120,000 and RMB 250,000, as examples. On the one hand, they avoided unnecessary price shopping with low-price competitors; on the other hand, they started with technology and used comparison. Better performance and a lower price than higher-priced competitors.
The same principle also applies to the ceramic industry: "Cost-performance" is a trick that makes companies and merchants live more comfortably.
1
Phenomena
During the visit to the terminal market, the reporter received dealers’ judgments on market changes, which were basically: “Nowadays, customers’ consumption is becoming more and more rational.” Whether they are southern cities or northern cities, first-tier cities or small counties, they all face the same confusion: “In the past, they would spend hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands to buy ceramic tiles. For the villa customer group, the unit value has basically declined to a great extent. ”
We can put ourselves in their shoes and think about why mid- to high-end consumers are paying more and more attention to cost-effectiveness? As information becomes more and more transparent, "foolish people make more money" has become the most taboo red line in people's daily consumption. In other words, what we call mid-to-high-end consumers (or rich people in more popular terms) want to buy value-for-money, high-quality products more thanSpend money to be a "fool".
Recall how when marble tiles appeared, they gradually annexed most of the stone market. As a result, the stone industry still gnashes its teeth when talking about marble tiles. The cost of natural marble used in the decoration of high-end mansions is very high, and it also involves various maintenance and upkeep in the later stage. The emergence of marble tiles is undoubtedly the perfect substitute for natural marble. “With half the price of marble, the effect of marble”, Nobel Tile’s advertising slogan goes straight to the point.
Mid-to-high-end customers pay more attention to the practicality and price ratio of items. Give a practical case. Someone once asked a reporter about purchasing ceramic tiles for decoration. The person's occupation was a TV host, and he was considered a high-paid person. The question she asked was probably: "You can often see their advertisements for a certain brand. Is it considered a particularly strong company in your industry? The colors of their products are indeed quite beautiful, but the price is a bit high." Question Just after she finished asking, the man next to her woke her up mercilessly: "There is no need to buy ceramic tiles that cost hundreds of dollars a piece. They are wear-resistant and have good colors. Now they are basically enough." The man then asked the reporter back: "These tiles don't cost much at all, right?" Before I had time to think about how to answer, I was already stunned by this soul question, but I couldn't refute it.
An ordinary consumer can already see a few things about ceramic tile sales more clearly than "insiders", which is enough to show that the consumers faced by the ceramic industry have become more and more professional. In this regard, Yang Junjie, general manager of Asia Ceramics Qingdao Branch, made an analysis: With more and more professional buyers, the industry will see a phenomenon, which is to break the original profit chain and redistribute it. The price of ceramic tiles will gradually tend to normal, and the market If you go onlineand blindly "sell high-priced" products, your market will become narrower and narrower.
2
Case
"Consumers are rational", "Buyers are professional", "Mid-to-high-end customers value sex more"These changes have led to the fact that today, after the epidemic has swept through, many mid-range brands that are not as well-known as the "super first-tier" and whose product prices are much higher than the "third or fourth tier" are already overwhelmed; only some brands and dealers that take the cost-effective route , still very healthy and alive.
Last year, the reporter discovered this interesting phenomenon when he visited the market in Yantai, Shandong. In a store like Yantai Red Star Macalline, where competition among top brands is fierce, what is recognized by everyone as doing well is not the few "super first-line" brands we are familiar with, but a cost-effective brand run by a dealer born in the 1980s. ——Elizabeth Tiles. The reporter learned that after this year’s epidemic, the brand did not seem to be greatly affected. It is currently preparing for the opening of the eighth flagship store of Yantai Elizabeth Tile during the National Day.
Yantai Elizabeth tile dealer Zhao Hui shared his brand management model. He believes that creating products for customers Value-for-money products and service systems are very important. They have secured a very prominent position in a high-end store like Red Star Macalline. They have also decorated a high-end and tasteful showroom and created a highly professional team. When customers enter the store, they feel a very high-quality service and experience. What they see are not bad products on the street, and the appearance and quality are good. Finally, they find that the price of the products is not high. This contrast has been found for customers. Reason for placing order.
Also relying on strong competitiveness to crush its opponents, there is Fujian Shishi's Big Horn Deer super wear-resistant marble tiles (hereinafter referred to as Shishi Big Horn Deer). Xu Lianggui, a dealer of Shishi Big Horn Deer super wear-resistant marble tiles, is also a very young and promising dealer born in the 1980s. Under his management, Shishi Big Horn Deer’s stores in Easyhome have won the store’s ceramic tile category for many times in a row. The king of signing orders." Not only that, it only took Shishi Big Horn Deer 3-4 months to capture the highest market share of Shimao, the most high-end real estate project in the area.
Xu Lianggui said that our biggest competitive advantage lies in our products. The value of the product itself has determined that Big Horn Deer will not cause friction with the price war in the low-end market; mid-to-high-end customers will never think that our products are expensive, because they know that the good the product is, the more it is worth. Chairman Nam Soon-chi of the headquarters often says that "good products are the foundation of business."Precisely because he himself has been a dealer, he knows better what kind of products are beneficial to terminal sales. If we have good products and provide good services, why don't customers choose us?
3
Mode
After reading the above two cases, it is not difficult to find that the competitiveness of these brands basically comes from optimizing product value and price measurement methods. By insisting on R&D and innovation, the manufacturer has achieved a lead in design, color and texture than its competitors at the same price, and its products are more practical and decorative. In fact, they have won half the battle. Terminal dealers will then upgrade their sales experience and after-sales service to increase the added value of their products, thereby gaining recognition from mid-to-high-end customers.
Why is the "cost-effective" model mentioned here only for mid-to-high-end customers?
Cost-performance, first is performance (value), then price. The low-end consumer group gives priority to price rather than value; when value is put aside, price loses its competitiveness. This type of market segment is often the most cruel and bloody, because the price is not the lowest, only lower. Therefore, brands and dealers that adopt the "cost-effective" model must also think about how to avoid such a quagmire.
In addition to avoiding low-price competition, the "cost-effective" model also needs the support of new technologies. Using the three car brands at the beginning of the article as case studies, BYD is obsessed with using the latest technology to conduct cutting-edge product exploration; Great Wall is obsessed with the efficient transformation of technology and building the most typical products Standard; Geely is committed to creating a personalized product matrix based on the segmented needs of different customers. From manufacturing to marketing, an industry forms a three-level system of product exploration, product standards, and product matrix, all of which are inseparable from the support of new technologies.
The essence of consumption upgrading lies in how to maximize the investment in technology costs in products and provide product premiums through services. When Huawei's 10,000 mAh power bank sells for 109 yuan each and Xiaomi's 20,000 mAh power bank sells for 119 yuan, which one will you choose as a consumer?
The terminal market is changing with each passing day. Do you want to know the latest terminal information? China Ceramics Network's "Linking Manufacturers, Directly Hitting Terminals" National Tile Bathroom Market Survey [Guiyang Station] will be held soon, so stay tuned!
Author: Hong Xiaochun
