Lang Junfeng sipped his drink and said, "I know it's difficult. Is there really no solution?
If this continues, the loss of high-quality customers at the store will hurt me terribly!
Even Old Zhou brought up Zhang Yang's brown sugar syrup when he was having tea with me yesterday!"
Old Zhou is a die-hard angler at Lang Junfeng's store. He spends at least twenty thousand a year on fishing at the store. Even he's noticed the brown sugar syrup and brought it up during tea. It's even harder to keep other customers with less loyalty!
"Regarding this brown sugar syrup, I called a friend to ask about it, and he doesn't have this flavor! I also don't know where Zhang Yang is sourcing it from!" Li Chunsheng shook his head.
"What should we do? If he builds up his reputation thoroughly, I'll be in trouble!" Lang Junfeng said worriedly.
"There's definitely an impact. You could even say most of his profit is cutting into your original market share. But that's how business competition works.
Regarding core competitiveness, Zhang Yang certainly has his unique strengths. I figured it out from the last time when we tried to cut him off, and he quickly came up with an upgraded bait formula!
But you don't need to overly underestimate yourself or be overly anxious. He can't capture most of the market share, given the store's scale. There are many needs he can't satisfy!
Now you can consider two directions!
The first one is to keep organizing the team to maintain fishing frequency and expand the influence of the fishing ground, even if you suffer losses against him, don't be disheartened. It's common for failures in military strategy; learning and gaining from experience is most important.
Last time during proper fishing, you responded poorly, otherwise it wouldn't have been so disastrous.
I'll personally help you next time at the fishing ground and test his methods, then we'll summarize and learn afterward.
Fishing is like competing; only by understanding the conditions can you fish well. When he first went, he didn't necessarily excel! When he put effort into researching, you simply didn't notice!
The second direction is to leverage your own advantages!"
"What advantages do I have?" Lang Junfeng interrupted and asked.
"Of course your product line and store scale! With so many brand agents and such large annual sales, they're not just selling for nothing!
Discounts are the lowest means; if you want to expand your fame and influence, seek brand sponsorships and organize fishing competitions, that's all manageable!
Unlike Zhang Yang who just has a small store, limited in scale, relying on individual heroism. You're different; you have major brands behind you!
If you do well with brand marketing, keep the agency in your hand, even if customers want to buy from Zhang Yang, they will come back to you when he's out of stock!
Besides, Zhang Yang might excel in fishing ground techniques, but according to match fishing rules, he may not be skillful in catching small crucian carp.
I can casually call some experts to support you and take the opportunity to promote products; this might help you regain reputation and attention.
And the two paths I'm suggesting aren't necessarily an either-or scenario; you can pursue both simultaneously! A set of combo punches, ensuring stability in the situation!"
With Li Chunsheng's analysis, old Lang felt reassured; his previously directionless mind finally found some clarity.
"Alright, let's follow your plan! We'll pursue both diligently!
Coincidentally, this year's competition sponsorship from the agency hasn't been used yet. When the opportunity arises, we'll organize a fishing competition!"
"You've run a store for so many years and still don't grasp these things! I wonder how you managed to earn from such a big setup the past two years!" Li Chunsheng was a bit amused by his junior.
Lang Junfeng scratched his head, "The fishing gear market was good in the previous years; as long as you got decent brand agents, you could earn. Unlike now, where maintaining customers requires personal fishing skills!
You know the skills I've got; if we're talking reservoir fishing, I absolutely won't fumble. But this fishing ground, I have no experience!"
"Alright, don't be too stressed out. Sign up for the next event; I'll secretly observe and identify your problems! You can't rush things; take it slowly!"
"Okay, brother, I toast to you!"
…
During a casual drinking session, Li Chunsheng pointed Lang to two directions. Old Lang, whose mentality wasn't too good, finally accepted the reality.
After all, snatching customers relies on core competitiveness; what Zhang Yang has, he currently lacks. He can only accept reality and find opportunities from his strengths.
After two days, soon it was time for the next fish stocking; old Lang, who failed twice in a row at the Oil House Fishing Ground, again signed up with a few anglers.
The difference was, this time Li Chunsheng also drove ahead to the fishing ground.
Li Chunsheng didn't fish but played the role of intelligence officer, quietly roaming the fishing ground, collecting information on Zhang Yang and others' fishing techniques for his junior.
This time, old Lang didn't provoke Zhang Yang, and his catch was decent. Using the double nester and bowling bait technique, he caught quite a lot, selling 68 pounds of fish overnight and successfully getting back on track.
Old Lang was quite happy about returning on track today. But, upon returning to the store, he noticed his brother Li Chunsheng's expression was somewhat grave.
"Brother, what's wrong?"
"That Zhang Yang surely has some skills! Are you sure he only plays in fishing ground, never competed?" Li Chunsheng asked.
"I'm sure! I've asked several familiar anglers about it. This guy's store only opened less than three months and just graduated high school last year. He was still selling rice for making wine and lunch at the Wen River this spring!
Besides, you're familiar with local competitive anglers! There isn't anyone like him!"
Upon hearing this, Li Chunsheng nodded, knowing well that if he were a competitive angler, Li Chunsheng would be aware.
"Originally, I thought you could compete with him on technique. But now I see, it's unlikely!
This guy's fundamentals are solid, his skillset strong; direct competition, even with public bait, won't grant you much advantage!
This path won't work!"
"Then..."
Hearing his brother's evaluation, Lang Junfeng felt a bit disheartened.
"But I found a new situation, let's study it together. Maybe we can leverage it!" Li Chunsheng shifted the conversation.
"Tell me!"
"That fishing ground owner Diao Changhe doesn't seem like someone with much principle or bottom line. Can we work something out, team up to set up Zhang Yang, or undermine him?"
"Hmm? How to set him up?"
"Simple, their group likes occupying the center, right?
Prematurely spread camphor balls at the fishing spots, ensuring the fish stay far away. Not a single fish comes; see if his divine bait works!"
Saying this devious plan, Li Chunsheng squinted slightly, envisioning the predictable outcome.
"Such a thing, we can secretly handle it ourselves! Why involve the fishing ground owner!"
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Explanation① Public baiting competition: A type of fishing competition rule, emphasizing anglers use unified public bait besides other basic competition rules. The bait chosen for competition is usually specified brand and specific types.
This competition format frequently appears in sponsored competitions by certain brands, minimizing bait performance differences among anglers, thereby testing angler skills and adaptability further.