"Iron Lady of Marketing" Yan Xu: Be the director of your own life

"You are leading people like Li Yunlong. You want such brave and capable people to obey you. This requires ability. It is not just about having power. Do you have wisdom? Do you have the ability to attract people?" His charisma?"

She was once the youngest managing director and deputy general manager of a large group in the Chinese beer industry. After joining Tsingtao Brewery, she helped Tsingtao Brewery achieve an annual growth rate of 270% for three consecutive years in South China, and was known as the "Iron Lady of Marketing." As another decade draws to a close, she has achieved the highest position for women in the beer industry worldwide.

Be the director of your own life

"If you don’t want to direct your life, life will arrange everything for you according to routine. Once you get used to the arranged life, the meaning of life will It will be gone, I dare say, your life will no longer have a wonderful story."

In the year he graduated from college, Yan Xu had the opportunity to stay in school to teach, but whenever he saw the campus. For a teacher with gray hair on her temples, there will be a strong voice shouting loudly in her heart: "I am still young, and I don't need comfort. I want to temper myself in a broader society, that is my world."< /p>

There were nearly a hundred college students who came to Zhujiang Beer at the same time as Yan Xu, including graduate students. She was not the most dazzling one. When he first entered Zhujiang Beer, Yan Xu started with small tasks such as serving tea, pouring water, and showing people around. But she often has the opportunity to sit in on important corporate meetings. Although she is just a newbie gearing up, she is always paying attention to any possible opportunities and thinking about how to achieve more results.

Just three months after she started working, the group encountered a crisis in the sales of canned beer. In an urgent work meeting, Yan Xu, who had never done marketing for a day, stood up and said, "I want to try it too!"

In fact, Yan Xu got the courage from nowhere. There was not much certainty at the time. After some planning, she took 6 boxes with 24 cans of beer each and embarked on a road full of unknown challenges without looking back. If there were no hard seats, I would buy a standing ticket and travel around, either staying at a friend's house or a local hotel that cost 2 yuan a night. I often didn't have time to eat at noon. When I was hungry, I would eat half a steamed bun, drink some water, and eat a few. Orange continued to run.

In just 20 days, Yan Xu traveled to 12 cities in one go, but found nothing. It was the off-season for beer sales, and she had no sales connections. She didn’t even know where the dealer’s door opened. The factory leaders repeatedly urged her to go back early, but the word "give up halfway" was obviously not in her dictionary. Finally, Yan Xu won her first cooperative company in Zhengzhou. Under her jerky and sincere sales pitch, a smile broke out on the face of the person in charge of the company. After the first order was successfully signed, she pursued the victory and defeated each one one by one, and finally signed a sales agreement for a total of 700,000 yuan. What’s interesting is that all those marketing veterans who flew on business trips came back disappointed, but Yan Xu only spent 290 yuan.

"The First Trial of the Sound of Hoofs" in the Public Relations Field

Yan Xu's first electric shock in the field of public relations was also at Zhujiang Beer. At that time, there was a public relations craze in the society, and her leadership asked her to take charge of the new field of public relations. Although it was only a small stage, she intuitively felt that there would be great potential in the future.

In the summer of 1988, when the national diving team returned from the Seoul (renamed Seoul in 2005) Olympic Games with great honors, a group of divers represented by Diving Queen Gao Min toured the country to report. Yan Xu, who was sitting in the office, suddenly thought, could the national diving team come to visit the company? After getting support from her marketing boss, she took action immediately.

Yan Xu first found out who the team leader was through a friend and found out the specific time they arrived in Guangzhou. In order to ensure that every star on the diving team can come, she even figured out the relationship between them, such as who is more likely to come and who cannot come, or if someone cannot come, who will not come.

At that time, the national diving team came to Guangzhou and lived on Ersha Island. Yan Xu "squatted" outside the door for a long time. Later, he finally seized the opportunity and successfully persuaded the team leader to lead the diving team to visit Zhujiang Beer. After that, she worked non-stop to contact and coordinate provincial TV stations, major newspapers, and companies that planned to sponsor. On the day of the visit, the moment the mighty national diving team entered the factory, Yan Xu's heart was filled with pride.

After this event, Zhujiang Beer received full publicity without spending a penny, and Yan Xu achieved great success in his "first try" in the field of public relations.

Seeking common ground while shelving differences and vowing to achieve goals

In 1998, Yan Xu was 34 years old and the youngest deputy general manager in the history of Zhujiang Beer. However, it was difficult for Zhujiang Beer, which was relatively peaceful, to achieve her position in the beer industry. dream. By chance, she saw the information in the newspaper that Tsingtao Brewery was recruiting a marketing president from all over the world. In her opinion, this meant that Tsingtao Brewery, which had a history of more than 100 years, could put down its arrogance. At that time, Tsingtao Beer was mainly concentrated in East China markets such as Shandong, and its market share in the five provinces of South China was almost zero. She met Peng Zuoyi, then president of Tsingtao Brewery, and Li Guirong, chairman of the board, for the first time. Before joining Tsingtao Brewery, Yan Xu already had an annual salary of more than 200,000 yuan, while Li Guirong's annual salary was only 60,000 yuan.

After joining Tsingtao Brewery, she reached a preliminary understanding with Tsingtao Brewery and they must work together to return Tsingtao Brewery's ranking from third in the country to first. But she soon discovered that her marketing ideas conflicted with the company's traditional marketing ideas.

Yan Xu said to himself: "I was recruited by Peng Zuoyi. I am responsible for him and the company. I must convince him." Not once, not twice, not twice, not three times. ...In the end, Peng Zuoyi nodded and let her follow her own path. Yan Xu reminds herself every week that she must call her boss regularly to report on the situation. Although sometimes she doesn't want to pick up the phone, she keeps convincing herself: "I want to see what I admire most about him, and seek common ground while reserving minor differences. Regardless of whether he understands or not, you must take the initiative to communicate with him. If you understand, continue to explain. If you don't understand, start again." Less than a year later, Peng Zuoyi told Yan Xu: "You succeeded, tell me to give the money. I will invest wherever I invest.”

In 1999, the sales volume of Tsingtao Beer in South China was only 10,000 tons. At that time, Tsingtao Brewery had a small team of forty or fifty people in South China, which was in a state of loss. Yan Xu returned all the unsuitable people. Then she proposed that within three years, Tsingtao Brewery's sales in South China could reach 400,000 tons. The team immediately exploded, which seemed like a fantasy to outsiders. Although he was anxious, Yan Xu was determined: "No matter what, this goal will not change. If you don't agree, you have to agree. If you don't implement it, you have to implement it. Anyone who doesn't agree will leave."

Later, after a series of drastic acquisitions, Tsingtao Brewery completed its layout in South China.

Marketing is a war

The shopping mall is like a battlefield, and Yan Xu showed his superb marketing skills in the business battle.

She clearly knows that for beer, nightclubs have always had extremely high profit margins. In Shenzhen bars, Heineken once dominated the world, with 355ml canned Heineken occupying more than 80% of the market share. Therefore, Yan Xu decided to seize this market with 330ml Tsingtao beer in small glass bottles. As for Budweiser, a high-end brand of 330ml bottled wine, Tsingtao Brewery is engaging in a price war. At that time, Yan Xu didn't get off work until 4 a.m. almost every day. Her efforts paid off. In just a few rounds, Tsingtao Brewery successfully occupied 80% of Shenzhen nightclubs.

Eight years later, despite numerous challenges such as team exodus, fierce competition, and second entrepreneurship, Tsingtao Brewery’s sales and profits in the South China market have been growing at a high rate. Production and sales have increased from more than 40,000 in 1999. It has grown to over one million kiloliters in 2010. The profit has increased from a loss of 34 million yuan in 1999 to a profit of more than 800 million yuan in 2010, ranking first in market share.

In 2005, Tsingtao Beer’s Olympic marketing project was launched. After visiting teahouses and restaurants, Yan Xu keenly and quickly set his sights on the "Super Girl" who was so popular at the time. She collected various interpretations about "Super Girl" and then went to Mengniu, the sponsor of the show, to visit the top management one by one and ask them about the secrets and processes behind the show. Soon, she contacted Hunan Satellite TV and quickly entered into cooperation with them. This new program later became "I am the Champion". After that, Tsingtao Beer's sports marketing line gradually became clear, and a series of massive activities such as "All Over the Country", Hands-in-hand with the NBA, and "Dazzling Dance ***" NBA Cheerleading Competition were launched one after another.

Three years after taking office as global marketing president, Yan Xu, Tsingtao Brewery’s most dedicated “cheerleader”, has repeatedly implemented strategies such as brand rejuvenation, products, markets, brand integration, channel construction and marketing model innovation. Jian Qigong led the team to increase Tsingtao Beer's brand value from 25.827 billion yuan in 2007 to 50.258 billion yuan in 2011. Profit production and sales increased by 18%, sales revenue increased by 24%, and net profit increased by 90%.

Strength comes from inner cultivation

Business inspiration often seems to come from a miracle, but Yan Xu said: "It's not how smart I am, but that I have always been on the front line for 23 years. "In order to understand young consumers, she often works overtime in the middle of the night, going to food stalls and nightclubs, observing young people, chatting with them, and asking them carefully why they choose or not choose Tsingtao Beer. , the habit and frequency of drinking beer, how everyone usually communicates, etc.

From the Spring and Autumn Period, when thousands of companies in the beer industry were fighting each other, to the Warring States Period, when 200 companies were vying for the top spot, this iron lady in the beer industry used such extraordinary perseverance and passion to overcome obstacles and achieve her goals. . She said that all the courage and strength come from a strong heart that is constantly cultivated. "Strength comes from long-term practice and the ability to control things. If you are not confident, not diligent, and do not have professional support, then you will naturally Unable to be strong”.

In April 2011, Yan Xu, dressed in a noble black dress, stood on the podium of China’s Outstanding Brand Women in the Workplace and became the first person to win this honor. When talking about how to build a successful personal brand in the workplace, she said: "Only when the organization is successful can there be individual success. Therefore, the personal brand must be integrated into the interests of the company, and your heart must beat enthusiastically with the rhythm of the company's development. .

"From her, we once again feel the endless heat radiating from her heart, which is enough to melt every ice in the workplace and smooth out every bumpy road

Life Director Marketing Iron Lady