Marketing depth: product breakthrough path for tractor enterprises

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For tractor companies, all competitive means and ideas must ultimately be implemented in their products. Which excellent agricultural machinery manufacturing companies in the industry are all highly competitive in a certain or several categories of agricultural machinery, such as Yituo Group, which is the leading player in the domestic tractor industry, and Weichai Lovol, which is the champion of both wheat and corn combine harvesters, Ward is the leader of the fully fed rice combine harvester, while DJI is the global leader in the plant protection drone industry.

So no matter how important it is to emphasize the importance of products in business, it cannot be overemphasized. In developed countries, there is even a trend of 4P to 1P concentration. In the domestic agricultural machinery industry, we can also feel that the core competitiveness of multinational giants such as Deere, Kubota, and Kesnel Netherlands is increasingly focused on the products themselves.

And those agricultural machinery enterprises that have been living in the midst of intense competition for a long time and constantly face being eliminated, most of them have not done their products well. "If there is no skin left, what will the hair be?" This shows that products are the starting point and endpoint of enterprise management. Therefore, facing more than 200 homogeneous competitive enterprises in the industry, if you are still an unknown small enterprise, just entering the industry, how can you quickly break through in terms of products, And ultimately become industry leaders like Dongfeng Agricultural Machinery and Yituo Dongfanghong?

Successful individuals are often not replicable, but the path to success can be learned. A company that develops new products and achieves market breakthroughs until they firmly occupy the market for a long time has existing and successful experiences to learn from. Next, we will talk specifically about the path of product breakthrough: single product breakthrough → rich variety → product structure → product upgrade.

01

Single product breakthrough

Tolstoy said, "Every unhappy family has its own misfortune, and happy families are all similar. A similar phenomenon also occurs in the agricultural machinery industry. From a global perspective, all agricultural machinery enterprises that can afford the word "success" have a successful product, such as Fent's Deere tractor, Krass harvester, NewHolland's silage combine harvester, and so on.

The premise of a company's success is the success of its products, and companies often cannot strive to produce all products at the same time. Instead, they need to achieve breakthroughs in individual products, which is the starting point for a company to succeed.

There is a concept called "big single product" in the fertilizer and pesticide industries, which are both agricultural inputs. The "big single product" of pesticides and fertilizers refers to a single product or product solution that can bring huge sales and profits to enterprises, and enhance their competitive position in the industry, such as the famous "Yunbao" of Zhengzhou Green Industry Yuan Company.

The single products mentioned here are equivalent to the "big single products" in the pesticide and fertilizer industries. The role and importance of "big single products" not only bring huge sales and help enterprises improve their status in the market, but also play a pioneering role. If the "big single product" is successful, other products of the enterprise can be quickly brought to the market by the "big single product". As the saying goes, "one person wins, the chicken and the dog rise to the sky", the "big single product" in the industry。

There are many companies in the industry that have successfully produced "big single products", such as many companies in the industry that have successfully produced "big single products", and many companies in the industry that have successfully produced "big single products", such as Wode Agricultural Machinery.

After more than a decade, Wode Agricultural Machinery has created the "big single product" of fully fed rice combine harvesters, dominating the rice machinery industry for ten years. In this process, Wode has continuously brought products such as drag pullers, rice transplanters, wheat machines, sugarcane machines, cotton harvesters, balers, and rotary tillers into the market through its core competitiveness such as network, service system, and brand influence established by fully fed, From the results, it can be seen that Ward's product extension strategy is undoubtedly successful. In 2022, Ward sold 38000 tractors, ranking fourth in the industry, 5000 wheat machines, ranking third in the industry, and 380 cotton pickers, ranking second in the industry. These achievements were achieved in just three to five years, and the strong traction behind them is the "big single product" of the fully fed combine harvester.

So, why do agricultural machinery enterprises need to break through individual products instead of attacking them in groups? A detailed analysis is needed here to address this issue, as many domestic agricultural machinery enterprises, such as a large agricultural machinery manufacturing enterprise in Jiangsu, have a wide range of product lines, including tractors, wheat machines, fully fed, semi fed, corn machines, and engines, which can be considered large and comprehensive. However, the enterprise is large but not strong, and there is basically no sense of existence in the industry, One of the reasons is that there is no "backbone" or "major product" to support the company's position in the market, so it is necessary to conduct in-depth analysis of this topic.

Firstly, the resources of enterprises are always limited, and one may overlook the other. Enterprises may have several or dozens of products, and many of their eldest and youngest sons are sons, with flesh in their hands and backs. In terms of resource allocation, everyone wants to do well, but the result is that none of them do well.

Some experts believe that breaking through a single product does not mean only producing one product, but rather concentrating resources from all products to promote a single product. Enterprises can not produce a series of products well, but focus on a single product with all their strength. Even if they cannot achieve industry first, they can still achieve influence within the industry. This is the tactical "ten for one" approach. After creating a "big product", they can strategically "one for ten".

The "big item" refers to the strategic product of a company that "takes one as ten".

Secondly, users cannot hold too many brands in their hearts. The positioning theory believes that consumers' minds are limited and they can usually only remember three or five brands. Specifically, the same applies to enterprises. Users usually only remember the best products of the enterprise. Therefore, in order to make users firmly remember you and choose you when making a purchase, they need to focus on a few products. Most of the time, providing too many choices is actually unable to choose. Even if enterprises have the ability to promote multiple products at the same time, The best way is still to push one by one.

Thirdly, it is determined by the market competition pattern. The "big item" that breaks through a single product cannot simply imitate the main selling products of competitors, but rather products that have significant technological breakthroughs or efficiency breakthroughs. Simple imitation only harasses competitors and does not have a substantial impact

Next, let's talk about how to create a "big item" for tractor enterprises, in order to break through the competition.

From the previous text, it can be seen that "large items" usually have large sales, high industry market share, have been tested and constantly updated, and more importantly, provide a continuous source of resource support for the future development of the company. To determine whether a company has the ability to sustainable development, it is usually only necessary to look at whether it has "super large items". So how should agricultural machinery enterprises create their own "super large items"?

One is to focus on the main channel and create "super large items" in mainstream demand. This involves profound strategic issues, which means the selection of strategic product directions for enterprises.

Studying the strategic products of successful enterprises in the history of the agricultural machinery industry, we can find that they are basically the main industries, with a large quantity and a wide range of agricultural machinery in the main categories.

The author believes that the popularization of "super large single item" products should be positioned in mainstream demand, strategically focusing on the main channel, and strategic products should be selected with large market capacity and sustained demand.

After focusing on the main channel, choose the product with the highest demand and stable demand in the main channel. Specifically, there are two options in the tractor industry: one is the tractor with the highest demand in the current power range, and the other is the power range that will be involved in future demand upgrades. In 2022, the highest sales horsepower range in the domestic tractor industry is 70-80 horsepower. In the next 10 years, the proportion of increased horsepower in demand upgrades should be 200-270 horsepower.

Focus on the main channel, find mainstream demand in the main channel, and then cultivate and create targeted "super large products". Strategic products must be consciously chosen by enterprises, and then cultivated through long-term sedimentation.

The second is to benchmark the existing "super large items". There are always best-selling products in the industry, and the goal of latecomers and small businesses is to surpass and subvert these "super large items", and one day they will have the industry recognized "super large items".

The best way to learn is to benchmark and first find the "super big items" that already exist in the tractor industry, such as 30-40 horsepower when the wind is the strongest, 40-50, 60-70 horsepower Dongfeng agricultural machinery has the highest share, 90-100 horsepower Ward, 100-180 horsepower Dongfang Hong, 260-300 Ma Li Jun Ma Dao, etc. To become a "big item", you need to learn from existing excellent brands and products in the industry, and then find their weaknesses and weaknesses, Subsequently, disruptive products were introduced to replace them, and the winner stepped on the corpse of the enemy to ascend, as has been the case since ancient times.

The third is to sort out the company's own product line and search for potential products in its current products. Don't create a "super large single port" from scratch, but prioritize choosing from existing products. Of course, follow the main channel strategy, choose potential products that match the main channel, and consciously cultivate them.

The author believes that creating "super large single products" should be cultivated along the path of potential products, popular products, super large single products, and classic products. "Super large single products" should be highly well-known products in the industry, recognized by users and respected by competitors, enjoying a high position in the industry, being worshipped by everyone, and being the object of learning and catching up in the industry.

The fourth is to pursue maximum sales, with absolute sales generating absolute "super large items". According to the perspective of evolution, best-selling products are the result of market selection. Unlike ordinary products, "super large items" not only remain fresh over time, but more importantly, "super large items" need to have a large sales volume.

The author's viewpoint is that "super large items" should pursue maximum sales, and absolute sales generate absolute "super large items". Therefore, after selecting potential products, the marketing resources of the enterprise should lean towards seed products, and the foundation of "large items" should be established through sales maximization. Once a product has a market share of more than 5%, it will emerge, and if it reaches 10%, it will become a star product, If the market share exceeds 50%, like the Waldorf, it will become an absolute "super large item".

So, 'super large items' are the result of huge sales, the result of market selection, and absolute sales generate absolute' super large items'.

The world's martial arts are only fast and unbreakable! The main purpose of single item breakthrough is to create super large items, but the operation of single item breakthrough should achieve "rapid and strong" promotion, rather than allowing the product to sell naturally. "Rapid" requires fast speed, "strong" requires strong efforts, and the investment resources should be focused. Under the "rapid" and "strong" effect, "super large items" produce spatiotemporal curling and folding effects, compressing the promotion cycle, Quickly becoming a mainstream product in the market and gaining huge potential without the other party having time to respond, giving both dealers and users a feeling that the product is selling very well, thereby rapidly increasing sales and establishing the status of "super large item" in the market.

02

Rich variety

A highly competitive product group is not a combination of small batch products or numerous "super large items", but a combination of "large items+small item groups".

In battle, my dear brothers, go to battle with father and son soldiers. "Zhao Zilong joined the Cao army's camp three in and three out. Although he was exceptionally brave, it could only be personal heroism and could not change the outcome of the battle. The true war should be the sincere cooperation of the three armies and the desperate efforts of the soldiers.

Just as an aircraft carrier is the enemy's "eyesore" that needs to be eliminated first without any future problems after the battle begins, the "super large single product" formed after the single product breakthrough will also become the "target" of all competitors in the industry, which is the target of criticism. Just like an aircraft carrier, although its combat power is strong, its own defense force is insufficient and requires the support of numerous ships, the "super large single product" also needs the support of other products, The dilemma of "super large items" lies in the fact that in the spotlight, competitors will develop highly targeted attack strategies against "super large items", such as better quality, more powerful functions, richer configurations, and higher cost-effectiveness. At this time, "super large items" will be in an awkward situation, and sales will decline if not counterattacked. If counterattacked, sales cannot be maintained, Competitors may develop more targeted and aggressive policies.

Therefore, after breaking through the single product, tractor enterprises must immediately carry out the work of enriching varieties. Variety richness refers to the formation of product combinations and product matrices around the dominant products that have already been formed.

Have you noticed a phenomenon that famous multinational corporations such as John Deere, Kesner Netherlands, and Kubota do have strong competitive power, but they do not match their global industry position in the domestic market competition, and even are often passive and beaten everywhere when facing domestic brands? Some experts believe that one important issue is that multinational corporations' products are too single.

Although multinational corporations have powerful classic products, one weakness of classic products is that they are too single. In the jungle like competition in China, they belong to fighting alone and delving into enemy occupied areas alone. Realizing this, one should know how to use the strategy of many to one and few enemies, that is, fighting with brothers and fighting with fathers and sons.

Specifically, in terms of products, it is to use product matrix combinations to counter a single classic product of multinational corporations.

For example, the John Deere 6J series JD2104 high-power tractor is a classic globally, while the domestic brand Dongfang Hong has formed a product matrix to cope with 210 and 220 horsepower, such as LX2104, LD2104, LN2104, LH2104, LF2204, LX2204, Dongfang Hong Weifeng series 2204, etc. The same 2204 has different chassis such as shuttle shift, synchronizer shift, power shift, etc. In addition, there are also high-end and low-end configurations, large chassis, and medium chassis With different configurations such as small chassis, this product combination can meet the needs of users with different consumption levels, intercept as many end users as possible, and achieve the goal of separating competitors from users.

Domestic leading brands such as Weichai Lovol and Dongfeng Agricultural Machinery have also been using the strategy of product matrix to connect with classic products, such as Dongfeng 2004/22004 large tractors and Xiongfeng 200422042404 in the 200 horsepower range. They have also formed a product matrix that ranges from low-end shuttle shift to high-end synchronizer and power shift.

In Sun Tzu's Art of War, there will be "ten encirclements, five attacks, and multiple divisions". German military scientist Clausewitz emphasized the importance of having an advantage in the number of troops in war, and emphasized the principle of concentrating forces in space and time. A generation of great men also emphasized the strategic contempt for the enemy, but the importance of the enemy in warfare, and the principle of concentrating forces to fight battles of annihilation.

The product matrix docking of classic products in the military is based on a tactical arrangement of more wins and less losses. If you want to win, you need to have an advantage in quantity over your competitors, and you need to make arrangements in time and space. For example, placing five or six products in a concentrated area can form a strong terminal interception in the regional market.

So domestic tractor brands need to establish a strong product moat, not only to create "super large items", but also to create a product matrix that combines attack and defense to cope with competition from all directions.

Furthermore, the diversified variety of tractor enterprises needs to achieve the following goals:

Firstly, reduce market risk by reducing the proportion of large items. A large number of single items will attract attention and become the product with the highest risk. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the proportion of "super large items" in enterprise operations through variety enrichment. However, it should be emphasized that reducing the proportion is not a reduction in sales or sales volume. If it is a negative, passive, and foolish idea to reduce sales volume and sales volume, the correct approach is to reduce the proportion of "super large items" on the basis of increasing variety enrichment, In this process, the sales volume and sales volume of the "super large item" still need to increase, even if profits decrease significantly, the sales volume and sales volume still need to increase.

Secondly, create profits through variety enrichment. Everyone should know that "structural economy" and "structural profit" generate strength through scale and profit through structure in the process of enterprise operation. In the context of 260 tractor production factories, any "super large product" of a company will gradually become a symbolic product under the follow-up, imitation, and attack of competitors. Sales may still be increasing and market share is increasing, but profits will be very thin. At this time, The product matrix will come in handy. Structured arrangements need to be made within the enterprise, with "super large items" playing a proactive role in attracting the firepower of competitors, becoming consumables and also consuming them. The cultivated new small items will serve as profit bearers. A single model may have low sales volume and low total profit, but several combinations will have the effect of surpassing the profits of "super large items", This way, enterprises have economies of scale and structured profits.