Hardware companies develop small cities and towns market into an inevitable trend of development

Since small towns in rural areas are relatively unfamiliar to most hardware companies, understanding the psychology and behavior of customers in small towns in rural areas is crucial to formulating corporate brand development strategies and marketing guidelines.

In addition, many companies believe that these remote and backward areas do not have high brand requirements. They may even become sites for selling backlogs and processing products. If they think so, they are wrong. This is precisely the reason why some companies have failed to develop these markets.

However, it is very difficult to enter the market of small cities and towns in China. First of all, the cost of logistics is extremely high, because the population is highly dispersed, the transportation facilities are backward, and the sales network is not perfect. The population of the potentially affluent population in small towns is 135 million, which is equivalent to the total population of 137 million in the first and second tier cities. The average income of the two families is also the opposite, but the former is scattered among the 12,000 small towns and 2000 villages and counties in the country. The difficulty in market development and costs are high. This is also the reason for the failure of Changhong Home Appliances to the countryside in the 1990s. Therefore, it is necessary to have sufficient understanding and preparation for the development of the small town market.

The development of small cities and towns by enterprises is an inevitable trend of China’s economic development, and is also the direction in which the central government develops strategic planning for county economies. Therefore, enterprises must abandon short-term behavior and must adjust their strategic direction, organizational structure, and operating model to overcome difficulties and achieve success. .

First of all, because the rural market is highly fragmented, cultural differences are large, and local living habits and natural environments are very different. Therefore, they have very different requirements for home decoration. Not only do they differ from cities but also vary from country to village. In view of this situation, companies must study Their living habits, and based on their characteristics, develop products that adapt to them, for example, they need to have piling rooms to place production tools, various debris and food and the like, due to differences in the use of the environment, on the tiles The wear resistance and other characteristics will have special requirements. Only by understanding them and designing their favorite products will they be welcomed by the market.

The second is to establish a sales network. The sales model of enterprises for the city certainly cannot apply to the rural market. Since the countryside has a large area, it is necessary to develop a flat sales network, and the company must set up a special leadership organization, organize the forces to research the market, formulate the rural market development strategy, and train Sales staff, this is a long-term action related to the survival of enterprises, any short-term behavior is doomed to failure.

This is followed by reducing logistics costs. In the early stage of development in the United States, the world-famous Sears Company delivered products to villages through mail-order channels, and through this channel, mail-order manuals designed specifically for farmers were sent to farmers through the post office. This is the market synergy, that is, through the post office. This channel is configured to send items. Therefore, our current approach to lowering logistics costs can only be achieved through synergies. In particular, current home appliances to the countryside have become a major trend, and companies must study how to use these existing channels and share resources to share in reducing logistics. cost. The building materials industry must truly go to the countryside and reduce logistics costs. This requires the concerted efforts of the industry and even the industry to develop a new model to achieve the reduction of logistics costs.

Developing a township market with great potential is a big trend and a fertile land for training brands. However, opportunities and challenges coexist, and only companies that use hardware to the countryside as a development strategy are not a temporary solution to the crisis, but also have a corporate structure. We must make changes, invest resources in research, formulate new operating models, cultivate talents, and organize strengths to implement them so that we can seize opportunities and be successful.