Chapter 20 Chapter 18 Selection and Design of Channel Schemes

A marketing channel is a set of interdependent organizations that facilitate the smooth use or consumption of a product or service.The marketing channel decision is the most important decision faced by the management of the enterprise, and the channel chosen by the company will directly affect all other marketing decisions. In the modern economic society, the middleman is definitely not dispensable, its existence will mean the diversification and depth of marketing methods.A good channel helps bridge the time, place, and ownership gaps between product offerings and consumers.In order for channel members to play a real marketing role, companies should carefully select channels and monitor and evaluate them.

Founded in 1908, the General Motors Corporation of the United States did not intend to unify and interfere with its subsidiary companies. In November 1918, after the end of the First World War, various branch companies rapidly expanded production and inventory to meet the expected rapid market demand heat wave.However, contrary to people's expectations, the automobile market collapsed in September 1920, supply and demand reversed, and there was a large backlog of automobiles. General Motors changed hands from Pierre Dupont and Alfred P. Sloan Jr. For DuPont and Sloan, the immediate task is to control inventories and control the procurement of parts and raw materials.To this end, General Motors expanded its headquarter lineup, set up a large number of functional departments, and established a procurement approval system, that is, each branch company must first report the raw materials, equipment and labor required for production, and only after approval can it actually purchase.This procurement approval system objectively requires the functional departments of the headquarters and each subsidiary to have a certain "market forecast" ability.

In 1921, Sloan and Polk reached an agreement that Polk would provide General Motors with the number of new car registrations in every state in the United States on a monthly basis, calculate the market share of General Motors, and analyze the changes and reasons.Meanwhile, General Motors requires dealers to report car sales, orders and inventory of new and used cars every 10 days.By 1924, General Motors had established a purchase and sales budget system, which could not only estimate in advance the required raw materials, equipment and labor, but also the prices of various products, return on investment, business cycles, seasonal changes and various factors related to the calculation of these data. The expected market share of the variety can be compared and analyzed in time according to the information and data reported by Polk Company and dealers, and adjustments can be made.More importantly, this purchase and sales budget system provides a reliable basis or decision support information for GM's headquarters to supervise the activities and performance of various subsidiaries and dealers, as well as overall planning and resource allocation.

In order to further control the long-term market and stabilize sales, General Motors adopted the "discount" method in 1925 to expand the distribution system of Chevrolet vehicles.Sales rebates increased from 21% to 24%.The number of Chevrolet dealers rose from 6,700 in 1925 to 10,600 in 1929; the sales volume in four years went from 310,000 to over 1 million in one fell swoop. General Motors' success has something to do with their emphasis on distribution channels.Until now, GM has always regarded the distribution channel as an important job.The marketing of the company has always been operated under careful arrangement, contact and guidance. Even the head of General Motors often visits the sales site in person to guide the company's sales promotion, train sales personnel, and meet with dealers.

Channel level and channel organization Because of the important role of distribution channels, enterprises need to correctly plan distribution channels in marketing.Kotler divided distribution channels into four levels: zero-level channels, first-level channels, second-level channels, and third-level channels.The zero-tier channel (direct distribution) consists of establishments that supply products directly to the intended recipients, usually through door-to-door, mail-in or through their own outlets; the first-tier channel has a distribution intermediary, such as a retail pharmacy; The first-level channel includes two intermediaries: wholesalers and retailers; the third-level channel has three intermediaries: distributors, wholesalers and retailers.Enterprises can choose different branch school channels according to their own conditions.

The channel length strategy means that the enterprise determines the number of channels based on factors such as product characteristics, market conditions, and the company's own conditions. When marketers choose a channel, the first thing to consider is the length and width of the channel.The so-called channel length refers to how many channel-level intermediaries are included in the marketing channel.Generally speaking, marketing channels include zero-level, first-level, second-level, and third-level channels, and there are also marketing channels with higher levels, but not many.The length of the channel is the most important key depends on the enterprise itself and the market situation.

Company A is a provincial-level distribution company that acts as an agent for domestic home appliances. Its business scope is mainly in the province and radiates to surrounding provinces and cities. In 2006, the turnover reached 600 million yuan.However, it seems that after the emergence of a strong provincial agent in a national retail store, the company's benefits have declined significantly. According to the current situation of Company A, it is difficult to compete with home appliance chains and hypermarkets. However, after analysis, it is found that large home appliance chains have obvious advantages in the primary market, while companies like Company A have advantages in the secondary and tertiary markets.Therefore, Company A decided to change its original channel model, penetrate into lower-level cities, and lengthen its channel length.

Company A divides the regional markets in the province into three levels, different levels of cities and different channels, and establishes a mixed channel: First-level provincial capital market: direct supply terminal.The retail business in the provincial capital market is well-developed. Company A actively requires direct supply to hypermarkets and home appliance chains, weakening the role of local wholesalers.The sales policy is also inclined to retailers, providing them with more services and support, maintaining stable prices, and ensuring their gross profit. The company has transformed from a dealer role to a market manager.

Secondary city market: cooperative distribution. Company A sets up offices in the secondary market and cooperates with powerful distributors.Distributors pay advance payment to Company A, send their own business personnel to develop the market, distribute goods, carry out in-depth distribution, effectively control the market price of products, and obtain higher gross profits from it - in addition to normal manufacturer rebates, there are also price difference profits. Third-level county and city markets: regional agents.In the county-level market, there is no need to establish an office, and only one salesperson is assigned to be in charge of local sales, and a more powerful distributor is found in the region as the local general agent.After reaching an agreement on the sales target in the region, the two parties will determine the settlement price and hand over all the sales work to the general agent.As for whether to develop downstream wholesale or directly supply to retailers, Company A no longer asks.

From a single short-term channel to a multiple long-term channel strategy is an effective adjustment made by Company A based on changes in the marketing environment.According to the differentiation strategy of each city, Company A can also grasp, influence, penetrate and maintain the market in an organized way, enhance the dominance and influence of products in channels, and lay a foundation for the maintenance and expansion of the market. Different companies have their own ideas about the choice of channel length. Through the analysis of the market, Company A has a channel strategy that is completely different from hypermarkets and home appliance chains, and finally succeeded.So, for most companies, what issues should be paid attention to in the choice of channels?

Kotler reminded marketers that generally highly technical products require more pre-sales and after-sales service levels, and products with high freshness requirements require shorter channels; while low-unit-priced, standardized daily necessities require long channels.From the perspective of market conditions, when the number of customers is small and geographically concentrated, it is appropriate to use short channels; otherwise, it is appropriate to use long channels.If the scale of the enterprise itself is large and has a certain sales force, it can use shorter channels; on the contrary, if the scale of the enterprise is small, it is necessary to use more middlemen, and the channels will be longer. The number of channel series also depends on the business intention of the enterprise, the quality of business personnel, the restrictions of national policies and regulations, etc., which are also factors that channel designers should consider. In a narrow sense, the main factor affecting the structure of the marketing channel is management, that is, the number of layers of the channel and the number of intermediaries contained in each layer, that is, the width of the layers. In addition to considering the length of the channel, companies also need to consider the width of the channel.Channel width considers how many intermediaries a company uses side by side in a certain market.A large number of intermediaries means a wide channel; otherwise, a narrow channel.The width of an enterprise's marketing channels is most suitable mainly depends on the enterprise's strategic goals, product characteristics and customer dispersion. Caterpillar Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of infrastructure and mining equipment, and also holds a considerable position in the field of agricultural machinery and heavy transportation machinery.The company's competitive advantage lies in having an unrivaled product distribution system. All over the world, Caterpillar has 186 independent dealers, who sell the company's products and provide product support and services, becoming a bridge between the company and customers.Caterpillar products are distributed through independent dealers, with the exception of newly opened markets in some countries, original equipment manufacturers and the U.S. government. This phenomenon is not seen in other competitors.The company believes that it is far more beneficial to find a local distributor than to set up a distribution agency in its own company.Because Caterpillar dealers are enterprises with a certain history in the local area, they have been deeply integrated into the local society. Their familiarity with local customers and the intimate relationship they have established with them are worthy of Caterpillar. Spend money on it.In addition, Caterpillar's products are high-value fixed assets with a long depreciation period, but they are usually operated in harsh environments such as construction sites and mines, and even the best products have to break down. Once a failure occurs, it will bring economic losses to the user.Through dealers, Caterpillar has formed the fastest and most comprehensive parts delivery and repair service system in the world.The company promises to get the required replacement parts and repair services within 48 hours for Caterpillar products anywhere in the world. Exclusive distribution means that in a certain area and within a certain period of time, only one middleman is selected for distribution or agency, and the other party is granted the exclusive right to operate.Generally speaking, enterprises that produce and operate famous brands, high-end consumer goods, and industrial supplies with strong technology and high prices mostly adopt this form.Caterpillar, as a manufacturer of heavy machinery, has relatively fixed customers and clear market demands. It has high requirements for timely maintenance and repair of its products, and also has high technical requirements for service personnel.Choosing exclusive distribution, the middlemen are highly motivated and have a strong sense of responsibility, which is conducive to maintaining the relationship between customers and Zhizhi and establishing the reputation of the product. However, exclusive distribution also has its inevitable disadvantages. For example, the market coverage is relatively narrow and there are certain risks. Once the middleman's operating ability is poor or unexpected situations occur, it will affect the company's entire plan to develop the market.This is also something that companies that choose to choose exclusive distribution must consider. In addition to exclusive distribution, channel width can also choose intensive distribution channels and selective distribution channels.Intensive distribution channels are also extensive distribution, that is, using as many intermediaries as possible to distribute products to make the channels as wide as possible.Daily consumer goods with low prices and high purchase frequency, standard parts in industrial supplies, general gadgets, etc., mostly adopt this distribution method.The use of intensive distribution channels can make the market coverage wide, and potential customers have more opportunities to come into contact with the product.The disadvantage is that the business enthusiasm of the middlemen is low and the sense of responsibility is poor. Another kind of selective distribution is to choose some middlemen in the market to manage the products of the enterprise.It is mainly applicable to optional products in consumer goods, parts and some machines and equipment in industrial supplies.Of course, companies operating other products can also refer to this practice.If the intermediary is selected properly, this distribution method can take advantage of the advantages of the first two methods. The vertical marketing system is conducive to controlling channel actions and eliminating conflicts caused by channel members pursuing their own interests.They can benefit from their size, bargaining power and reduction in duplication of services. Traditional marketing channels consist of independent producers, wholesalers and retailers.The relationship between them is loose, each for its own benefit.In fact, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers can also form a unity, one of which has the ownership of other members, or implements franchising, or it has enough strength to make other members willing to cooperate, thus forming a vertical marketing system.The vertical marketing system can be designed and managed by professionals, and it is a centralized sales network. Sibao Group is an international group company registered in Hong Kong by Mr. Liang Liangsheng, a Hong Kong industrialist. In 1989, it entered the mainland of China to develop its industry, and began to develop "Midea business" with Xiantao as its production base and Wuhan as its headquarters.The terminal marketing strategy adopts the company-style vertical marketing system, which is the unique weapon of Sibao's rapid development. The vertical marketing model adopted by Sibao Group mainly operates the market through channel flattening, so as to increase the "market unit output".Sibao Group has set up branches and liaison offices in various places to realize direct supply and management of major retail outlets, thus establishing a strong vertical marketing system controlled by manufacturers.And the manufacturers will do marketing directly, implement appropriate crowd tactics, promote with gifts (disintegrate their loyalty to competing products), promote with personnel (promote commandos, promote in turn for each small regional market), promote with events, and jointly promote (The channel expansion principle of "first two poles, then the middle", focusing on the distribution of goods in hypermarkets and retail stores, so as to drive the development of medium-sized stores) system operation mode to communicate with consumers and attract popularity. The channel model adopted by Sibao Group is a typical company-style vertical marketing system model, which is characterized by the combination of related production departments and distribution departments under the same owner.Sibao Group directly manages its branches and liaison offices, and implements sales strategies uniformly. Each channel member in the vertical marketing system obtains benefits through economies of scale, bargaining power and reduced duplication of services, which has become a typical way of channel combination strategy.In the vertical marketing system, a certain channel member owns the property rights of other members, or it is a special agency relationship, or this channel member has considerable strength, forcing other members to cooperate.The vertical marketing system can be dominated by any organization among producers, wholesalers, and retailers.Under this system, professional management and centralized execution can be realized, and economies of scale and the best market effects can be achieved in a planned way. Vertical marketing systems can achieve a high level of control over channels.In addition to the system adopted by Sibao Group, another company system of this channel system is that a large retail company owns and manages a number of wholesale institutions, factories, etc., and adopts a business-industrial integration mode to comprehensively operate retail, wholesale, processing and production. .For example, Sears, which is famous for its retail industry, supplies 50% of its goods from production enterprises in which the company holds shares; China's Lianhua and Hualian Supermarkets also control many production enterprises under their own names. In addition to corporate vertical systems, vertical marketing systems also include managed vertical marketing systems and contractual vertical marketing systems.The difference between the management type vertical marketing system and the corporate type is that it is a number of cooperative companies organized by a large-scale and powerful enterprise, and this company has a dominant position in it.Brand name manufacturers are able to get strong trade cooperation and support from resellers.As a result, companies such as Kodak, Geely, and Procter & Gamble can obtain strong trade cooperation and support from their resellers in terms of merchandise exhibitions, container locations, promotions, and pricing policies. In addition, there are contractual vertical marketing systems consisting of separate firms at different levels of production and distribution who unify their actions on the basis of contracts in order to achieve greater gains than they could have achieved acting independently. economic and sales effects. In the past, many companies went to market using a single channel to a single market.Today, more and more companies are adopting multi-channel marketing as the number of customer segments and possible channels increases. Some multi-channel marketing systems mean that a company will establish two or more marketing channels in order to reach one or more customer segments, which is the use of multi-channel marketing systems.For example, a company not only operates department stores, but also opens popular shopping malls and specialty stores.This joint marketing model will result in a multi-operating business empire with concentrated ownership, usually composed of several different retail organizations, and the integration of distribution functions and management functions is carried out behind the scenes. In 2005, after successfully entering the United States, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan regions of China, DHC, the No.1 cosmetics brand sold by Japan Telecom, came to mainland China. The main sales form of DHC in Japan is communication sales, which adopts the mode of network sales, telephone sales and catalog sales.However, the social credit system in mainland China is still not perfect, and a considerable number of consumers only believe in cosmetics that have been "visible and experienced".The irregularity of the communication sales market makes people lack trust in communication sales of cosmetics that have no consumer experience. Facing a completely different market environment, in order to break the bottleneck of the development of communication sales of cosmetics, which is difficult to experience effectively, DHC has surpassed in the transformation. After entering China for only two years, DHC has not yet fully penetrated the communication sales in the Chinese market. Abandoning the model of pure communication sales, the "multi-channel experiential marketing" of cosmetics with Chinese characteristics has been carried out in China. In 2007, DHC quickly developed terminal direct stores.The popularity of the opening of direct-sale stores in various places also reflects the timely and correct adjustment of DHC's strategy.From a single communication channel to a multi-channel experience system combining "communication channels + terminal entities", DHC has established its brand position in the complex Chinese market in only about three years. More importantly, DHC's success in China is that it has quickly and effectively carried out multi-channel marketing in the Chinese cosmetics market. In China, DHC not only uses its previous network direct sales model, but also focuses on building its own end-entity channel network according to local actual conditions, and realizes a complementary online and offline multi-channel marketing model. Optimal channel strategy.Kotler believes that by adding more channels, market coverage can be increased, channel costs can be reduced, and sales tend to be more customer-oriented; or new channels that can reduce the cost of selling to existing customers can be added, such as telephone sales instead of personal visits. customers; or channels whose sales characteristics are more suited to customer requirements can be added, such as the use of skilled salesmen to sell more complex equipment. A single channel may give full play to the advantages of specialization, and it is also more conducive to enterprise management.However, more companies that choose multi-channel marketing systems, fancy formal multi-channel marketing systems can increase market coverage, reduce channel costs, better meet customer needs, expand product sales, and improve economic benefits.Of course, multi-channel marketing is not all beneficial and harmless.Scattered multi-channel marketing may cause channel conflicts. Therefore, enterprises implementing multi-channel marketing should pay special attention to strengthening channel control and coordination to make the multi-channel system develop healthily. Designers of marketing channels must understand the service output needs of target customers in order to better design suitable channels. The first step in designing a marketing channel is to analyze the level of service output. Its purpose is to understand what (what), where (where), why (why), and when ( when) and how to buy (how).This requires that the design of channel programs must understand the factors that affect the output level of channel services. In the PC market, consumers can be divided into business users, home users, and student users; their demand for service output levels can be divided into three levels: high, medium, and low.These three types of users in different target markets have significant differences in their demand for services.According to the analysis of Kotler's five influencing factors, it can be known that: Batch size: Generally speaking, commercial users are mostly purchased by groups, and the purchase volume is relatively large; home users and students generally only need to buy one at a time. Convenience of space: As far as home users and student users are concerned, in the initial purchase stage, the requirements for space convenience are relatively low, but they must be high in the after-sales service stage.For commercial users, because general commercial users will have their own computer technology and maintenance personnel, so the requirements will not be too high. Delivery - wait time: In the case of the PC market, home users may be the most willing to spend time waiting because they have less urgent needs for a computer during the initial purchase phase.Business users require fast delivery and minimum wait time, because delivery-wait time directly affects their work efficiency.For student users, especially in the new semester, the demand is even higher. In the after-sales service stage, the needs of home users are the lowest, and that of student users is high.Commercial users do not have very high requirements on the delivery-waiting time of the after-sales service stage. Diversification of varieties and colors: demand for software varieties and colors.The use of the computer determines its demand for software types. Business users have the highest demand for software types among the three types of users; home users only need some word processing systems and game programs, so the demand for types is low.The demand for personal computer brands is the lowest among the three types of target markets for business users, and the highest among home users.Regardless of the type of demand for software or brands, student users are between business users and home users. Service support: Home users and student users have high demand for service support. Once the machine breaks down, they have a certain dependence on the manufacturer's technical support and maintenance services.Commercial users have relatively less demand for technical support and maintenance services because they have professional technicians and maintenance equipment in this area, but they may need support in credit, deferred payment, and commercial discounts.Therefore, in the personal computer market, the cost of serving home and student users is higher than the cost of serving business users. In this case, users in the three target markets have different demands on the level of service output. Not only are the levels of service demand in the three target markets different, but even in the same target market, there are differences in the level of service demand in different stages. .Therefore, when providing service output to consumers in the target market, they should be treated differently according to the differences in their needs, rather than being treated equally without distinction. Designers of marketing channels must understand the service output needs of target customers in order to better design suitable channels.Channel expert Bucklin divides the factors that affect the output level of marketing channel services into four categories: Lot size: is the number of units that a marketing channel offers to a typical customer during the buying process.In general, the smaller the batch size, the higher the level of service output provided by the channel. Convenience of space: Customers can get the products or services they want when they need them without spending a lot of energy and time, and the space convenience of channels is higher. Delivery-Wait Time: This is the average time channel customers spend waiting to receive their goods.Customers generally prefer fast delivery channels.But fast service requires a high service output level. Diversification of varieties and colors: Generally speaking, customers like wider fancy varieties, because this increases the chances for customers to meet their needs. Philip Kotler added another item on the basis of the previous four categories, service support, that is, service backing refers to the additional services (credit, delivery, installation, repair) provided by the channel.The stronger the service backing, the more service work the channel provides.These five types of service output basically summarize the various demand types of consumers in different channel systems.We take the difference in service output requirements of three different types of users in the personal computer market as a case to analyze its significance in channel design. Whether creating channels or making changes to existing channels, designers must clearly list the company's channel design goals.This is because the channel goals set by the company are likely to change due to changes in the environment. Only by clearly listing them can the designed channels not deviate from the company's goals.In this case, explicitly listing funnel goals is more effective than talking about them. Channel goals vary by product feature.For example, a bulky product requires a channel layout that minimizes the transport distance and minimizes the number of times the product moves from producer to consumer.Non-standardized products are sold directly by company sales representatives because intermediaries lack the necessary knowledge.Products with high unit value are generally sold by company salesmen and rarely through intermediaries.Therefore, it is necessary to combine the characteristics of the product to design the most suitable and most cost-effective channel structure. Lotus MSG is the largest MSG production base in my country, and has a high brand recognition and market share in the market.However, although monosodium glutamate is needed by every household as a condiment, the purchase frequency of consumers is low, and the quantity purchased each time is relatively small.Based on this, the product must find and develop sales channels that are more suitable for product sales characteristics. In practice, Lotus MSG chooses food wholesale enterprises with strong distribution capabilities in various regions as sales agents, and through the agents, the products are placed on the shelves of convenience stores, supermarkets, warehouse stores and various food stores. The lotus monosodium glutamate was sent to the dining table of thousands of households.Its decision is based on the following: As a derived demand, consumers generally buy MSG in stores that sell food, especially non-staple food.Therefore, enterprises must choose to sell all kinds of food stores, including non-staple food, as sales venues. As a commodity with low purchase frequency and small quantity, but also frequently needed by consumers, consumers have high requirements for the convenience of purchasing condiments such as MSG, that is, they hope that they can be purchased conveniently when needed.This requires enterprises to have a higher density of sales outlets to be as close as possible to consumers and provide them with convenience. On the whole, except for a few large department stores and chain enterprises with a certain scale, most retail enterprises, especially various retail stores dealing with non-staple food, have relatively small sales scale and operating strength, and have no ability and channels to obtain from production enterprises. Stable supply and purchase channels mainly rely on various local food wholesale companies.Therefore, when enterprises enter and occupy the market, they need to rely on food wholesale companies with strong distribution capabilities to achieve their market goals through food wholesale companies and their distribution systems. In actual operation, Lotus MSG has formulated a sales channel strategy of "borrowing a boat to go to sea", that is, to select some food wholesale companies with strong distribution capabilities in various regional markets, and establish a regional general sales agent relationship with them, and use the wholesale The company's existing sales channels quickly entered and occupied the market.For example, in the markets of Beijing and North China, the general agent of Lianhua MSG is Beijing Chaoyang Non-staple Food Wholesale Company, which is the largest food wholesale enterprise in Beijing and its surrounding areas. It has a high market reputation and sales network system in Beijing and its surrounding areas. The lotus monosodium glutamate quickly gained a firm foothold in Beijing and the North China market, and achieved very outstanding sales performance. The success of lotus monosodium glutamate channel construction benefits from its analysis of its own product characteristics and the relationship and characteristics of various marketing intermediaries.The characteristics of Lotus MSG determine that the best channel it should adopt is agent distribution.After the target setting of the channel is completed, Lotus MSG clarifies its channel tasks and subdivides the network relationship between various channels. Enterprises should do the same in channel construction.The design of channel tasks should reflect the differences between different types of intermediaries, and their strengths and weaknesses in carrying out tasks.For example, the use of marketing intermediaries can reduce the risk of the manufacturer, but the sales effort of the intermediary's sales representatives for each customer is lower than that of the company's sales representatives.Both have their own advantages, and companies need to pay more attention to them.In addition, when designing channel tasks, in order to adapt to channel goals to the greatest extent, certain adjustments need to be made according to the characteristics of different products or services. In addition, as a part of the company's overall strategy, the channel strategy must also pay attention to the goals of the channel and other marketing mix strategies, the coordination between prices, promotions and products, and the goals of other aspects of the company, such as finance, production, etc. coordination to avoid unnecessary conflicts. Generally speaking, channel selection will result in 2 or 3 options, which are also limited by factors such as the activities of the manufacturer, the nature and size of the market, the choice of intermediaries, and other factors. After establishing the channel tasks, the designer needs to rationally allocate them to different marketing intermediaries, that is, to establish a suitable channel structure plan to make it play its role with the greatest effectiveness.Since different channel designs have different advantages and disadvantages, we can generate several feasible channel structure solutions for selection, and finally choose the most suitable channel solution through comparison. A game point card dealer analyzed customer needs and learned that game point card customers are widely distributed and purchase frequently, but the purchase batch is small and they are very unwilling to wait.And because the game is very attractive, it must be used after purchase, and no after-sales service is required. According to the purchase characteristics of the above customers, considering that in the sales of point cards, the most critical demand of customers is to be able to buy anytime and anywhere, and considering that the use of consumers must be at home or in Internet cafes, the most basic channel type must be online purchases. There are two ways in Internet cafes, which will be the most basic two types of channels, one is direct sales, purchased through online electronic transfer, and the other is offline Internet cafe distribution. Next, scan the market. There are still many existing methods, such as sales outlets of IP and IC cards, books and periodicals kiosks, and electronic markets.In addition, there are bundles of computers, computer accessories, digital products and even soft drinks.Not only that, there are more possibilities for sales channels, such as banks, mobile phone stores, community supermarkets and bookstores, etc. There are more and more retail types... Of course, there are actually only three types of channels, one is online The type of direct sales, the second type is the offline distribution type, and the third type is the bundled sales of products. In this way, the structure of the channel has a rough line. Kotler told us that a channel selection plan includes three elements: the length and width of the channel and the type of commercial intermediary.For game point card dealers or manufacturers, the key to choose which solution is their own characteristics and marketing goals. It can be only one method, two of them, or a combination of three methods. Also, companies should figure out the types of intermediaries that can take on their channel work.For example, a company that manufactures test equipment may choose its channel among company direct marketing, manufacturing agents, and industrial distributors.Companies can also look for newer marketing channels.For example, when TIMEX launched its new watch, it abandoned the traditional jewelry store as a channel, and adopted the new channel of the popular store industry, and achieved unexpected results.The reason for this is mainly due to the fact that when entering new channels, the degree of competition that the company encounters is not very intense. Recently, as companies have begun to pay attention to the long-term interests of the market, rather than just being satisfied with the pursuit of short-term benefits, the control of channels and the adaptability of channels have gradually become important factors considered by channel designers. To carry out the design work of the channel, the factors affecting the structure of the channel must be analyzed.There are many factors that affect the channel structure, such as market factors, product factors, company factors, intermediary factors, environmental factors and behavioral factors, etc., will all have an impact on the channel structure. Taking the sales channel of Yirenjing care products produced by a biotechnology company in Beijing as an example, combined with the above factors, the analysis is as follows: Market factors: channel analysis of health-related products in Beijing Drugs, food, health care products and disinfection products are collectively referred to as health-related products. Currently, the main sales channels are pharmacies, shopping malls, supermarkets (including hypermarkets) and convenience stores. Product Factors: Product Features Yirenjing products are foam-type gynecological care products with novel dosage forms and convenient use.However, different from traditional lotion care products, this product needs proper guidance for the first use, so it is better to sell it over the counter; and the product appeal is to solve female gynecological problems, so the channel should consider its professionalism as much as possible, such as pharmacies and hospitals. Company Factors: The Company's Marketing Objectives The company hopes that the product can quickly enter the market and become a necessity for women's daily life, which can be bought everywhere like cold medicine, so as to change the traditional water and lotion washing habits of Chinese women.In the end, it became the dominant product in the female gynecological care market just like sanitary napkins replaced toilet paper. Middleman Factor: Channel Structure and Evaluation in Beijing Area At present, pharmacies are still dominated by the state-run system, with good reputation, low entry cost and wide distribution.且药店多为柜台销售，且柜台营业员一般具有一定的医学知识。商场、超市和大卖场近几年来蓬勃发展，在零售中处于主导地位，销量大，但进入成本高，结款困难且多为自选式销售，无法与消费者进行良好的沟通。便利店因营业面积小而以成熟产品为主。 环境因素和行为因素：未来两年渠道变化趋势分析 目前各大上市公司和外资对中国医药零售业垂涎欲滴，医药零售企业也在不断地做变革，加之医保改革使大量的药店成为医保药房，药店在健康相关产品的零售地位将会不断提高，其进入门槛也会越来越高，比起日渐成熟的超市大卖场而言发展潜力巨大。 根据以上分析，该公司在北京建立了如下的渠道策略：分步完善渠道结构，优先发展传统国营医药渠道，在有限的广告中指定仅在药店销售，保证经销商的合理利润。在产品成熟后发展常规渠道。 渠道结构如下： 第一年度：先将产品给区级医药公司，由区级医药公司分销给连锁药店等药店和医院，由此到达终端及消费者手中 第二年度以后：将分销区级医药公司，由区级医药公司分销给商场和连锁便利店等药店和医院，商场和连锁药店等和医院进一步再将产品分别分销给连锁药房和消费者，同时连锁药房也作为一个终端，为消费者提供产品。 伊人净的渠道结构体现了健康相关产品应有的专业特性，有效克服产品进入市场时的在使用指导上的困难，同时又以较低的代价达到了广泛铺货的目的。第一年度的渠道选择上的指定性（仅在药店销售），使得现有渠道对公司产品有良好的印象，这使得后继产品实现了快速上市。医药在价格上的稳定性，也使公司在产品价格上易于控制，保证其他区域的招商的顺利进行。虽然起初的销量未能达到最大化，在零售终端的陈列上也不够活跃，但考虑公司的成本控制和长远发展，公司在成长性的渠道上的良好印象，本方案仍不失为成功的渠道策略。 制定最佳的渠道结构必须对相关的内外因素进行必要的分析，没有最好的，只有最适合的，只有建立在扎实精当的市场分析基础之上而建立起的渠道结构才有有效打开市场，并在其中占有一席之地。 制造商要想对中间商进行适当的激励，首先需要按一定的标准来衡量中间商的表现，并将这种衡量长期化。 生产商必须定期按一定标准衡量中间商的表现，如销售配额完成情况、平均存货水平、向顾客交货时间、对损坏和意识商品的处理、与公司促销和培训计划的合作情况。生产商要对为其工作的中间商作出评估、培训或激励，对不能胜任的中间商甚至需要适时中止其业务。 济南九阳电器有限公司自从1990年12月份推出产品豆浆机后，市场连年大幅度扩大，公司已发展成全国最大的家用豆浆机生产厂家。这样一家品牌知名度并不高的中型企业，6年来做成了一个产业，创造了每年近百万台的市场需求。九阳的成功不仅在于其拥有的技术优势，更在于市场营销上的成功。通过160多个地级市场的建设，九阳形成了一套寻找和管理经销商的思路。 九阳公司根据自身情况和产品特点采用了地区总经销制。以地级城市为单位，在确定目标市场后，选择一家经销商作为该地独家总经销。为达到立足长远做市场、做品牌、共同发展的目标，九阳公司对选择总经销商提出了较严格的要求： 1.具有对公司和产品的认同感、负责的态度、敬业精神。这是选择的首要条件。对产品、品牌、市场负责，才是经销商完成销售工作的保障。唯有如此，经销商才能尽心尽力地推广产品，努力将市场做好，也才能不断提高企业网点的质量，提高企业品牌和市场美誉度。 2.具备经营和市场开拓能力、较强的批发零售能力。这涉及经销商是否具备一定的业务联系面，分销通路是否顺畅，人员素质高低及促销能力的强弱。总经销商的市场营销能力直接决定着产品在该地市场能够在多大范围和程度上实现其价值，进而影响到企业的生产规模和生产速度。同时，总经销商作为企业产品流通中的一个重要环节，不仅要能够实现一部分终端销售，掌握第一手的市场消费资料，更重要的是要具有经销产品的辐射力和批发能力，拓宽产品流通的出路。 3.具备一定的实力。实九阳公司在如何评价经销商实力上，采用一种辩证的标准，即只要符合九阳公司的需要，能够保证公司产品的正常经营即可，并不要求资金最多。 4.总经销商现有经营范围与公司一致，有较好的经营场所。九阳公司要求总经销商设立九阳产品专卖店，由九阳公司统一制作店头标志，对维护公司及经销商的形象产生了积极的作用。 九阳公司即把握了选择标准的重点又能结合自身的特点灵活地运用，从而有利于自己建立有力的销售渠道，为自身打开市场夯实了基础。 每一个企业在选择自己的经销商时，都必须首先对经销商的能力作出准确的评价与估计。如九阳对中间商的要求，中间商的渠道营销能力是每一个制造商在选择中间商时首先考虑的问题，也往往是衡量中间商的能力与参与程度的第一个标准。其中又包括销售额的大小、成长和赢利记录、偿付能力、平均存货水平和交货时间等内容。另外，中间商的参与热情也是评价中间商的一个重要标准。 选择和评价有能力的中间商，找到最适合企业销售的合作经销商，是提升产品销量的有效保障。反过来说，不积极配合制造商营销的中间商，可能比积极配合的中间商的销售效果要差许多，甚至可能会危害到制造商目标的完成。因此，企业需要科学衡量中间商的能力，促使他们理解公司促销和培训的计划，与制造商之间展开更良好的合作，最终保证产品更好地到达消费者手中。 营销渠道必须作为企业的一项宝贵资源而加以长期地，有效地管理。这就意味着企业必须对渠道的每个成员管理工作，进行必要的激励和评价。此外，随着时间的变化，渠道必须调整以适应新的市场状况和环境变化。 公司在确定了方案，选择了渠道成员后，营销渠道就建立起来了。但这并不意味着公司的工作就结束了。同企业的员工一样，渠道的成员也需要激励，促使他们进行更有效的销售。 某食品厂家与其他大多数厂家一样，以前对经销商的返利政策是以销量作为唯一的返利标准，且销量越大返利的比例越高。这在无形中诱导了经销商依靠上量求利，从而导致经销商蹿货、杀价等不规范运作。 认识到事情的根源之后，此食品厂家吸取教训，在返利政策的制定上不以销量作为唯一的考核标准，而是根据厂家不同阶段对营销过程的管理来综合评定返利标准。如此，除了完成销售定额给予经销商一定奖励外，还设定了以下返利奖励： 铺市陈列奖：在产品入市阶段，厂家协同经销商主动出击，迅速将货物送达终端。同时厂家根据给予经销商以铺货奖励作为适当的人力、运力补贴，并对经销商将产品陈列于最佳位置给予奖励。 渠道维护奖：为避免经销商的货物滞留和基础工作滞后导致产品销量萎缩，厂家以“渠道维护奖”的形式激励经销商维护一个适合产品的有效、有适当规模的渠道网络。 价格信誉奖：为了防止经销商蹿货、乱价等不良行为，导致各经销商最终丧失获利空间，厂家在价格设计时设定了“价格信誉奖”，作为对经销商的管控。 合理库存奖：厂家考虑到当地市场容量、运货周期、货物周转率和意外安全储量等因素，厂家设立“合理库存奖”鼓励经销商保持适合的数量与品种。 经销商协作奖：为激励经销商的政策执行、广告与促销配合、信息反馈等设立协作奖，既强化了厂家与经销商的关系，又是淡化利益的一种有效手段。 对于每个经销商来说，促使他们参加渠道体系的条件固然已提供了若干激励因素，但是这些因素还需要通过制造商经常的监督管理和再鼓励得到补充。对渠道成员的激励其实就了解各个中间商的不同需要和欲望，然后以相应的方式去满足他们。对此，营销人员还建议，可以通过以下方式激励经销商：为中间商提供市场场合热销产品；提供产品组合；及时提供必要的业务折扣；给予中间商适当的利润；对中间商进行适当的培训等。 对渠道成员进行激励、评价的目的都是为了更好地对渠道成员进行管理、控制，使渠道能够按照企业的目标共同前进。 如今的市场始终在不断的变化中。当消费者的购买方式发生变化、市场扩大、新的竞争者兴起和创新的分销战略出现时，各渠道成员之间就可能出现冲突，因此，经销渠道的结构需要不断改进与优化，以适应市场新的动态。 思科的渠道体系中，高端产品一般都是由金牌代理商、银牌代理商这样的系统集成商来销售，而低端产品则是通过总分销商透过渠道来销售。然而，这样的经销方式造成的结果是，小的系统集成商如高级认证代理只能从分销商那里拿低端产品，然后再去别的集成商那里拿高端产品；有时高级认证代理甚至会和金牌、银牌代理商在争夺一个客户，但前者又必须向后者下单，业务机密有泄露之嫌。 认识到这些不足之后，思科在决定改变这种不合理机制。2009年，思科将所有产品逐步向系统集成商和分销商开放，系统集成商也可以直接向思科购买低端产品。这样，不仅改变了接一个单子从两个地方进货的局面，而且为总分销商也能代理高端产品开辟出一条新的路子。 思科将代理商认证分为四级：金牌认证代理商、银牌认证代理商、高级认证代理商和认证代理商。其中认证代理商作为思科分销体系的基础，以最低端产品为主要销售目标；高级代理商代理思科的全系列产品，要求有一定数量的认证工程师和培训计划，它们不直接从思科拿货，而是通过分销商和金牌、银牌代理商拿货；银牌代理商的要求更高，要求数量更多的工程师必须接受更严格的考核；最高层次金牌代理商除了对业务量和工程师有更高的要求外，还必须向客户提供每日24小时的服务热线。 一个生产者必须定期地检查和改进它的渠道安排。当渠道成员不能按计划工作，或是消费者、竞争对手发生变化时，只有不断适应市场的变化，才能更好地控制好渠道为己所用。思科适应新的市场形势需求及时对其销售渠道结构进行调整，建立起了完善高效的营销体系。 在产品生命周期的整个过程始终保持竞争优势的营销渠道是没有的。因此，制造商必须不时对渠道策略进行评估与改进。一般来说，制造商采用较多的改变渠道结构的方法，主要有增减个别渠道成员、增减某些特定的市场渠道，或者创立一个全新的方式在所有市场中销售其产品。