What Is Channel Marketing?

Marketing channels are a traditional distribution planning task, that is, to deliver the right amount of products to the appropriate point of sale at the right time, and to display the product in front of consumers in the target market in an appropriate display manner to facilitate consumer purchase .

Channel marketing

It consists of four parts:

Marketing channel decision is one of the important decisions of the company, and it will affect other marketing decisions. For example, the pricing will vary with the adoption of large distributors or high-level commissions. The company's direct sales staff is also equipped with different numbers according to the strength of the channel. In addition, the company's marketing channel decision is a long-term commitment to other companies and must be followed, for example, after the marketing area authorization is authorized, it must comply with the original agreement.

It takes a lot of time to establish a combination of internal and external forces. It represents the long-term commitment between the company and the middleman, and it also represents the choice of a company's marketing mix strategy. Therefore, when choosing a marketing channel, we must Pay attention to the changes in the marketing environment and plan your marketing channels with a long-term perspective.

Most manufacturers do not sell products directly to the end consumer. Between the producer and the end consumer, there are wholesalers and retailers who buy goods, obtain ownership and then resell them. There are also brokers, manufacturers Commercial representatives and sales agents are responsible for finding customers. Planning the company's marketing channels from a long-term perspective I. Collection and analysis of market data (pre-sales)

For new products or new regional markets, we need to know the following:

Local market capacity ---- local consumption level

Local market customer group distribution, mainstream market distribution

Sales of local brands and sales momentum

Company name, decision maker, operating brand, company sales nature, company management model, financial operation status of local customers or strong channels

Price quotation of market brands, advantages and disadvantages of other brands

The market seeks points for the profit of its own brand

Channel management and channel operation of local brands of the same nature

Pros and cons of various channel management and channel operations

When we go to a new market to develop, we must understand the above information. Can this understanding be further divided, and can our understanding of the local market be more systematic?

Industry understanding

Each industry will form a "circle" with its own characteristics in the operation process. Due to the different operating products in the IT industry, we do not feel that there is a clear "circle" at the retailer, but we hope that the product sales When it becomes a geometric level, we must face a team of professional wholesalers. In order to protect their own interests and regulate the operation of products in the market, a specific product agent sales cluster will be formed in a short period of time. We call this This cluster is the "circle" of product sales. We need to enter these "circles". First of all, we must understand what is different between the "inside" world and the "outside" world. It is the "inside" game rules; it is convenient for us to communicate with customers and increase us and customers We need to talk to our target customers about some industry history, inside information and some gossip. These are easy topics, and customers are not wary of these topics. There are some such topics that are more beneficial to us to eliminate the customer's wariness against us, and thus quickly pull the distance between customers and sales staff. In short, the more the sales staff knows, the more they will be recognized by the "circle". There are many ways to understand this type of "circle", the most commonly used ones are described below:

Through research in professional media

Chat with guests and colleagues

(3) Become friends with industry or manufacturer personnel

Information sharing, communication sparks with colleagues

Product analysis

Understand product positioning

Understand product quality and service

(3) Summarize the selling points, advantages of the product, and what problems the guests can solve

Understand competitors' products and their advantages, disadvantages and weaknesses

Ways of understanding: product training materials provided by manufacturers, explanations by colleagues, and summing up customer views and opinions.

Purpose: Let our sales people become experts in this industry, and win the trust of customers by understanding the technical aspects of the product.

Understand your target customer base

Need to understand company profile, decision makers, decision makers' business ideas, main products and markets, their position in the industry, development strategies, major competitors, whether they intend to offset sales and management staff, and products and services are yours Competitors, cooperation, personality of decision makers and family circumstances. The more you know about your customers, the greater your chances of success. Of course, it does nt matter if you do nt know so much. Your customer database is modified little by little. You can get some answers by talking with this customer. This database will be very valuable to you.

Develop solutions for customers

Don't expect customers to have time to listen to your story without a preliminary understanding of your product or idea. Submitting a customer plan is the most sensible choice. The purpose of the plan is to stimulate the customer's interest in talking with you. Basic requirements. There are three simple schemes:

Universal, mature product or service sales solutions (solve why we use our products)

Initial contact or sales of new company products (solving customers' understanding of our products. How operations and services can help customers succeed)

(3) Special solutions (solutions to solve special problems raised by customers)

There is no special way to write this well, you can only refer to it, think about it, summarize it, and do it yourself.

Manufacturing concept

In P & G's advertising strategy, each brand has been given a concept: such as Haifeisi's anti-dandruff, Pantene's maintenance, softness and so on, and then continuously strengthened through advertising communication. For example, Hyflux uses the slogan "Dandruffs disappear, and hair is cleaner" to highlight personality; Pantene's personality lies in the nutritional protection of hair, so there is "rich vitamin B5, which can penetrate from the root to the end of the hair , Supplement nutrients ... "; and the" shampoo and hair care done once, make the hair flowing and supple "ads, emphasized Rejoice's personality.

Not only that, Procter & Gamble also extends its conceptual strategy to advertising with competitors. For example, before Shufujia soap entered China, Lux soap was the leading brand in the market, and its product positioning was "beauty skin care". Procter & Gamble obviously needs to re-manufacture a concept, through market analysis and refinement, so give Shu Fujia soap "beauty + sterilization" concept, and also increase the recognition of people through the authority of the Chinese Medical Association. Later, under the powerful advertising offensive, Shu Fujia's sales have been rising. Shufujia has become the number one brand in the Chinese soap market.

In fact, the manufacturing concept has become a killer in P & G's entry into China's daily chemical market. Since P & G's first product, Haifeisi, launched in China, it has been repeatedly successful. This should make us realize that the manufacturing concept is not a fabrication, but a precise positioning of the product and the market, its expression, and the basis of marketing and advertising. One of the strategies.