Many novice entrepreneurs, due to lack of experience, tend to fall into some misunderstandings when entering the vending machine industry, which not only affects profits but may also dampen their entrepreneurial confidence. Today, we will list the most common pitfalls in vending machine entrepreneurship and how to avoid these misunderstandings, making your entrepreneurial journey smoother.
Misunderstanding 1: Thinking "as long as there is a machine, you can make money" and ignoring the importance of location
Many beginners think that as long as they place the machine anywhere, they can make money. This idea is completely wrong. The choice of location directly determines the passenger flow and sales volume of the machine, which is the core factor for profitability.
A former entrepreneur placed his machine on a roadside with seemingly large passenger flow without any research. As a result, passers-by were in a hurry and few stopped to buy things, and the monthly sales were not enough to cover the location fee. However, another entrepreneur, under the guidance of the Zhigou team, chose a location next to the community's express cabinet. Residents would buy goods while picking up express deliveries, and he earned more than 5,000 yuan in the first month.
Pitfall avoidance methods:
Before choosing a location, observe the passenger flow, stay time, and characteristics of the consumer group in the target area. For example, office building lobbies, school dormitory buildings, and hospital waiting areas are high-quality locations with large passenger flow and sufficient stay time.
Use Zhigou's location evaluation tool. By entering regional information, you can obtain the consumption potential analysis of the area to avoid blind location selection.
When signing a contract with the property or site manager, clarify the lease term and fees. It is best to strive for a 3-month trial operation period. If the effect is not good, you can replace the location in time.
Misunderstanding 2: Blindly pursuing "high-profit products" and ignoring consumer demand
Some beginners only focus on high-profit products when selecting products, such as imported snacks and high-end beverages, but ignore local consumer demand, resulting in unsalable products.
Mr. Zhang put a lot of expensive imported snacks in his machine placed in an ordinary community, but the sales were very poor. Later, under the advice of Zhigou's product selection consultant, he replaced them with well-known brand snacks and daily necessities, and the sales immediately tripled.
Pitfall avoidance methods:
Product selection should be in line with the consumption capacity and habits of the people at the location. In affordable communities, focus on cost-effective popular products; in high-end office buildings, you can appropriately add some high-quality products.
Use the sales data in Zhigou's background to regularly analyze which products sell well and which are unsalable, and adjust the product structure in time to avoid inventory backlog.
Beginners can adopt the method of "small batches and multiple varieties" for trial sales in the early stage, and gradually increase the purchase volume of best-selling products according to sales conditions.
Misunderstanding 3: Neglecting daily maintenance of the machine, leading to failures affecting business
Although vending machines are simple to operate, they also require daily maintenance. Many beginners tend to ignore this, leading to frequent machine failures, which affect customer experience and sales.
For example, if the machine's cargo lane is stuck or the payment system fails, and not handled in time, customers will lose trust and may never come back. A former entrepreneur lost more than 2,000 yuan in a week because he did not clean the dust inside the machine in time, which caused problems with the refrigeration system and made the beverages hot.
Pitfall avoidance methods:
Check the machine status through the Zhigou APP every day, including inventory, temperature, and payment system, and deal with abnormalities in time.
Perform simple maintenance on the machine once a week, such as cleaning up debris in the cargo lane, wiping the screen, and checking whether the buttons are sensitive.
If you encounter a failure that you cannot solve, contact Zhigou's after-sales team immediately and do not delay. Zhigou's maintenance technicians will respond within 2 hours and come to repair as soon as possible.
Misunderstanding 4: Not doing marketing activities and waiting for customers to come
Many beginners think that vending machines do not need marketing, and as long as there are products in the machine, people will buy them. This passive waiting method is difficult to increase sales.
Smart entrepreneurs will use various marketing activities to attract customers, such as promotions on holidays and coupons for regular customers. With the help of Zhigou's operation team, Ms. Li launched the activity of "buy 30 yuan and get zongzi for free" on the Dragon Boat Festival, and the sales on that day were twice the usual.
Pitfall avoidance methods:
Use Zhigou's marketing tools to set up activities such as full reductions, second items at half price, and membership days to attract customers to consume.
Post eye-catching activity posters on the machine, and publicize activity information through WeChat groups and community bulletin boards to expand influence.
For repeat customers, you can push coupons through the Zhigou APP to improve the repurchase rate. For example, if a customer buys products for 3 consecutive days, send a 5-yuan coupon.
Misunderstanding 5: Unreasonable fund planning leading to operational interruption
In the early stage of entrepreneurship, fund planning is very important. Some beginners either invest too much money in the machine, resulting in insufficient funds for subsequent restocking; or are too frugal and reluctant to invest in necessary aspects, affecting operations.
Ms. Wang invested all her savings in buying 5 machines at the beginning, but she had no money to restock, so she had to suspend operations. Later, under the advice of Zhigou's financial consultant, she started with 2 machines and reserved enough restocking funds, and gradually got on the right track.
Pitfall avoidance methods:
It is recommended that the initial fund allocation be: 60% for machine investment, 30% for restocking funds, and 10% for reserve funds to avoid capital chain breakage.
Choose Zhigou's installment payment method to reduce the initial financial pressure and spend more funds on operation and marketing.
Keep records of income and expenses every month. Use the financial analysis function in Zhigou's background to understand the cost and profit situation and adjust the business strategy in time.
Misunderstanding 6: Not learning operational knowledge and doing things by feeling
Although vending machine entrepreneurship has a low threshold, it also requires certain operational knowledge. Many beginners do not pay attention to learning and do things by feeling, making it difficult to improve performance.
For example, not knowing how to analyze sales data, deal with competitors, or adjust prices will affect profits. Entrepreneurs who actively participate in Zhigou's operation training can often master skills faster and achieve profits.
Pitfall avoidance methods:
Actively participate in online and offline training courses organized by Zhigou to learn operational knowledge such as product selection, marketing, and data analysis.
Pay attention to industry trends and competitors' practices, and learn from others' successful experiences. For example, if competitors are holding promotional activities, you can launch more attractive ones.
Join Zhigou's franchisee exchange group, share experiences with other entrepreneurs, and ask for advice in time when encountering problems to avoid detours.
It is inevitable to encounter various problems on the entrepreneurial road. The key is to understand the possible misunderstandings in advance and find ways to avoid them. Zhigou vending machines not only provide you with high-quality machines and services but also guide you to avoid entrepreneurial traps throughout the process, helping you take fewer detours and achieve profits as soon as possible.
If you are a beginner in vending machine entrepreneurship and want to know more pitfall avoidance skills, you can contact Zhigou customer service to get an exclusive pitfall avoidance manual!
