Diversified and personalized consumer demand, defects of traditional marketing channel model in some aspects, ubiquitous marketing competition and the rapid development of Internet technology have become important reasons that affect the innovation of channel model of small and medium-sized enterprises in the development of modern market. Therefore, small and medium-sized enterprises must strive to promote the innovation of marketing channel model of small and medium-sized enterprises by establishing multipolar marketing channel model, constructing customer relationship management system, establishing marketing channel alliance and vigorously developing online marketing, so as to gain comparative advantage in dynamic and uncertain market competition. Taking the small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an as an example, this paper analyzes the reasons and strategies for the innovation of marketing channel model.
[Keywords:] small and medium-sized enterprises; Innovation of marketing channel mode; Ji 'an City
Now the homogenization of products is becoming more and more serious. Price and promotion have hardly become an important factor in defeating competitors, but the marketing channels are different. Just like the famous American marketing scientist Don? Schultz said that it can bring differentiated competitive advantages to enterprises just like integrated marketing communication. As a very important concept in marketing, marketing channel plays an important role in the development of enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. It is an important weapon and carrier for enterprises to survive, develop and grow. However, due to the uncertainty of external economic, political and legal environment and the weakness of their own scale, SMEs want to beat their competitors in the fierce market competition environment. The disadvantages of their traditional marketing channel model, such as high cost and low efficiency, are obvious one by one, and it is difficult to obtain greater competitive advantage and breakthrough. Therefore, we must integrate channel resources, solve the problems existing in the marketing process of small and medium-sized enterprises through the innovation of marketing channel model, and then explore and occupy the market in order to seek greater success. This is a problem worthy of consideration for small and medium-sized enterprises under the background of dynamic and uncertain market environment.
First, the status quo of the marketing channel model of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an City
Ji 'an City is located in the middle and west of Jiangxi Province, the old revolutionary base area of Jinggangshan, with an area of 2527 1 km2 and a population of 48 1 person. 20 1 1 year, the total GDP is 87.906 billion yuan, ranking sixth in Jiangxi province 1 1 cities, and the per capita GDP is18300 yuan, which is in Jiangxi province1/cities. The industrial growth rate is 20 12, ranking third in the province. The overall economic situation is located in the middle and lower reaches of the province. Under the influence and restriction of multiple factors such as resource endowment, historical conditions, market size and economic environment, almost all enterprises in Ji 'an are small and medium-sized enterprises at present. In recent years, on the basis of thoroughly implementing a series of laws, regulations and policies and measures such as the Law on the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, the Regulations on the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Jiangxi Province and the Implementation Opinions of the People's Government of Ji 'an on Further Promoting the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, the rapid development of small and medium-sized enterprises has played a vital role in the sustained economic growth, solving the employment problem and scientific and technological innovation and development of the city. By 20 1 1 year, the contribution rate of small and medium-sized enterprises to GDP will exceed 50%, and the tax paid will account for more than 47% of the city's total fiscal revenue, providing more than 60% of urban jobs, and 65% of patented inventions and more than 80% of new product development will be completed by small and medium-sized enterprises.
The overall situation of the marketing channel model of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an is as follows:
(A) the innovative concept of marketing channel model is backward, and the innovative ability is generally lacking.
With Ji' an city? Eleventh five-year plan? With the completion of the planning, various infrastructures such as transportation and public services are becoming more and more perfect, creating a good environment for pillar industries such as electronics, food, medicine, textiles, electricity and machinery. The national Jinggangshan Economic and Technological Development Zone, National Export Processing Zone, National Electronic and Information Technology Innovation Base, National Wind Energy Industry Base, National Processing Trade Industry Base, National Taiwan Business Undertaking Base and Jitai Corridor have been developed and built, which have become powerful engines for the rapid development of small and medium-sized enterprises. At present, small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an are facing a very good development opportunity and platform. However, due to historical conditions and geographical relations, most small and medium-sized enterprises still stick to the rules and do not make progress. They have not deeply realized that the innovation of marketing channel mode will bring greater competitive advantage to enterprises and make them occupy more market share. Many enterprises simply copy the marketing channels of large enterprises in the marketing channel model, and do not create their own unique channel model according to their own product characteristics. In addition, because Ji 'an's overall economic development level is not high, the commercialization atmosphere is not strong, and the wage income is relatively low, it is difficult to attract high-quality and highly educated marketing professionals to work in enterprises. As a result, most enterprises generally lack the ability of channel management and channel innovation. Even if some enterprises innovate in some aspects, they often do not conduct professional market research and forecast, and do not study the law and characteristics of customers' needs in depth, which often leads to the general innovation effect, which is far from the expectation.
(B) Based on the traditional marketing channel model.
At present, small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an adopt different marketing channel models, such as indirect channel model led by wholesalers, channel model led by retail terminals and Internet channel model based on e-commerce. However, through visiting observation and in-depth interviews with some enterprises, it is found that most enterprises in Ji 'an still adopt the traditional pyramid marketing channel model, and the structural process of this model is generally enterprises. Wholesaler (agent)? Retailer? Consumers. As a third-and fourth-tier city in Jiangxi Province, Ji 'an is dominated by agricultural production, with underdeveloped industry and weak business atmosphere, which leads to the slow development of retail formats. In addition, due to conservative ideas, insufficient popularization of digital technologies such as e-commerce, the modern channel model of online marketing has not been fully implemented, resulting in the channel model dominated by wholesalers still prevailing and difficult to change in a short time.
(3) The capital chain of marketing channels may be disconnected or interrupted.
Small and medium-sized enterprises need certain funds as a guarantee to establish a mature channel model. However, due to the persistent impact of the global financial crisis in 2008 and the overall domestic economic situation, the profits of many enterprises have fallen sharply. Most small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an are also strongly impacted and influenced by this economic environment. In the channel model, there is such a convention that many dealers like to use a small amount of cash to achieve the purpose of expanding the scale. For large enterprises with abundant funds, there is not much risk, but for small and medium-sized enterprises with insufficient funds and cash flow, it means that once the cash flow is interrupted, not only the channel model will be in trouble, but also the production and operation of enterprises will be affected, which will seriously lead to bankruptcy and liquidation of enterprises.
(D) channel marketing control ability is weak
Small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an are diverse in types and nature, including state-owned enterprises, foreign-funded enterprises, private enterprises and individual enterprises. Generally speaking, private enterprises have a good momentum of economic development, accounting for half of the city's total economic output. Even if the current international and domestic economic development environment is not very good, the number of enterprises still maintains a relatively fast growth rate. But a common problem faced by most enterprises is the low effective profit of assets, that is, the scale is relatively weak. In this context, the enterprise's channel model may face two situations: first, in the channel model, if you meet a powerful dealer, you will lose the right to speak in the channel dialogue because of your low market visibility and brand. In order to reduce the sales risk, dealers will attach some unequal treaties to control enterprises, such as selling on credit, reducing prices, restricting the supply to other dealers, etc., which leads to the lack of free development and growth space for enterprises in the channel model. Second, if you meet a dealer with weak strength and reputation, many enterprises will worry that their products and brands will not be well promoted, channel services will not be well guaranteed, and their ability to maintain products will be weak.
Second, small and medium-sized enterprises marketing channel model innovation reasons
(A) Diversified and personalized consumer demand is the fundamental driving force for the innovation of marketing channel model.
According to the principle of sociology, when the per capita GDP of a country is between 1000 ~ 3000 dollars, the whole society will accelerate the transformation from the traditional unitary structure society to the diversified modern society. China's per capita GDP of 20 1 1 year is 54 14 USD, ranking 89th in the world. Therefore, the development trend of diversification of consumer demand will exist for a long time in the next stage. In addition, due to the continuous development of social economy and culture and the continuous improvement of people's material living standards, consumers are increasingly pursuing themselves and showing their individuality. The trend of diversification and individualization of consumer demand sends a signal to enterprise marketing, and the core of marketing is to strive to meet customer demand. Guiding the whole marketing process based on customer demand is the main idea of building a modern marketing channel model. As such a platform and link connecting producers and consumers, the marketing channel model needs to adapt to the changing trend of consumer demand and strive to make changes and innovations on the basis of the original channel model. That is, taking consumers as the starting point, by integrating the channel resources of enterprises and distributors, we can meet the needs of customers with the lowest cost, the fastest speed and the best service. If small and medium-sized enterprises still stick to the original traditional channel model, the development of enterprises will be greatly limited. Therefore, the two changing trends of consumer diversification and personalized demand will drive the innovation of marketing channel model, which is the fundamental reason.
(B) There are some defects in the traditional marketing channel model, forcing small and medium-sized enterprises to make internal amendments to the innovation of marketing channel model.
At present, most small and medium-sized enterprises adopt the traditional marketing channel model. The main reason is that small and medium-sized enterprises are small in scale and lack of funds. In order to save marketing costs, they can only use middlemen to connect the market. This model has certain flexibility and adaptability, and will be widely used in a certain period of time. However, because the marketing channel is too long or too wide, its defects are further amplified with the integration of channel resources and the expansion of channel scale. The defects of the traditional marketing channel model are mainly reflected in the following aspects: first, because the channel is too long, it is impossible to quickly grasp the consumer's demand for product quality, color and style, resulting in a serious lag in responding to customer demand. Second, the trading relationship between enterprises and middlemen is relatively loose, and they are all fighting for their own interests. This relationship will lead to the possible interruption of cooperation between the two parties at any time and increase the transaction cost of enterprises. Third, with the expansion of channels, more middlemen will participate and share some profits. With the extension of the channel process, the channel cost will further increase, and consumers will bear higher product prices, which will ultimately affect the competitiveness of enterprises. The above defects will force enterprises to modify the channel model internally and strengthen their competitive advantage through innovation.
(C) Ubiquitous marketing competition is the external driving force for SMEs' marketing channel model innovation.
Competition is the characteristic of commodity economy, which is both a challenge and an opportunity for the development of enterprises. Relatively speaking, due to the constraints of small scale and lack of funds, the competition among small and medium-sized enterprises is more intense. The competition of product quality, brand, price and channel has a profound impact on the business strategy and management of enterprises, and marketing competition has penetrated into all levels of enterprise management and development. If small and medium-sized enterprises want to beat their competitors and expand their market share in the fierce market competition, they must understand and understand the needs of consumers faster and more conveniently, so as to meet the needs and desires of consumers more effectively. Therefore, from the perspective of marketing channel model, if we maintain the original inefficient and redundant marketing channel model, we will miss the opportunity and be preempted by competitors. For many enterprises, it is an inevitable choice to establish an efficient, fast and effective marketing channel model, quickly open and occupy the market and gain a competitive advantage in a competitive environment.
(D) The rapid development of e-commerce is the platform guarantee for the innovation of marketing channel mode for SMEs.
Compared with traditional trade, e-commerce is a revolution of deep marketing concept, because it shortens the time of information flow and saves the processing cost of logistics, cash flow and information flow transmission. In recent years, the upgrading speed of Internet technology based on e-commerce platform is accelerating day by day, and the marketing activities with the help of the Internet under e-commerce platform have become a major trend of enterprise production and operation. 70% of enterprises in the United States use the Internet to do business. According to statistics, the transaction scale of China e-commerce market has exceeded 4.5 trillion yuan in 20 10, and reached more than 6 trillion yuan in 2010, with a year-on-year increase of 33% (see table below). In the next few years, China's e-commerce service industry will usher in development. Golden age? . In recent years, Ji 'an City has also been deeply influenced by the Internet environment, and many enterprises have begun to use the online marketing channel model to sell products, so as to save costs and bring more benefits to consumers. Through Baidu keyword search? Ji' an SMEs? It is found that some enterprises have started to establish their own portals to expand brand awareness and shorten communication incentives with customers. This fully shows that under the background of Internet development, enterprises in Ji 'an City have begun to pay attention to the innovation of network channel mode, which is a good start.
Third, specific measures to innovate the marketing channel model of SMEs
(1) Establish a customer relationship management system to maintain a long-term, effective and sustainable relationship with customers.
Customer relationship management is a kind of customer relationship management. One-on-one customer relationship theory? Based on the new management mechanism, it aims to improve the relationship between enterprises and customers. This concept was first put forward by Gartner Group, and has been widely implemented in developed countries such as the United States, which has a significant effect on increasing income, optimizing sales process and improving customer satisfaction. If small and medium-sized enterprises introduce customer relationship system, it will be a useful attempt and breakthrough in marketing channel innovation. It can shorten the sales cycle of channels, greatly improve the success rate of future transactions, provide enterprises with relevant information of customers conveniently and effectively, consolidate the relationship between enterprises and consumers, judge the future needs of customers in time, and try to meet these needs. Enterprises can also use the historical data of consumers in CRM database to understand and analyze consumers' behaviors and preferences, so as to track services and maintain long-term, effective and sustainable contact.
(B) jump out of the shackles of a single channel and establish a multi-polar marketing channel model.
In order to save costs and avoid risks, small and medium-sized enterprises often only establish a certain marketing channel model. However, the market environment and competitors are very uncertain. If small and medium-sized enterprises only stick to some form of marketing channel model, they will often be bound by themselves and will not develop rapidly. Therefore, enterprises should be dynamic in the establishment and selection of channel model, and must constantly adapt to the evolution of enterprise development stage and the uncertainty of market environment, and establish multi-polar marketing channel model to spread risks and increase market share. Multi-polar marketing channel mode refers to a channel in which enterprises establish two or more distribution channels to obtain more consumer market information, so as to better meet consumer demand. Due to the defects of the traditional marketing channel model itself, it is more urgent to establish a multi-polar marketing channel model. Multi-polar channel model can cover a larger market, gain greater profit value and better control the risks of enterprises in channel management. Therefore, with the maturity of market environment and the further growth of enterprise strength, multipolar marketing channel model is the inevitable trend of the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
(3) Establish marketing channel alliance, form effective long-term cooperation and disperse market risks.
Small and medium-sized enterprises can consider establishing marketing channel alliance if they want to gain a foothold in the fierce market competition environment. Competitive and cooperative marketing channel alliance can give consideration to saving transaction costs and unification, and realize the interests of both parties. By establishing channel alliance, we can gain competitive advantage and achieve our respective economic goals more effectively. Channel alliance refers to the integration of upstream and downstream organizations of small and medium-sized enterprises in various industries in the region to realize resource sharing. According to the signed agreement, enterprises joining the channel alliance can provide all-round support for each other in terms of capital, supply, logistics, brand and management, and form a risky, profitable and channel alliance relationship. On the basis of channel alliance, small and medium-sized enterprises can also use related channels, that is, use the channels of large enterprises to sell their own products, which can effectively overcome many difficulties such as insufficient funds for self-built channels.
(D) Vigorously develop the online marketing channel model based on e-commerce platform.
Many small and medium-sized enterprises have a weak awareness of online marketing and are unwilling to spend energy and money to make changes and innovations, but online marketing has opened up unprecedented business space for small and medium-sized enterprises. Network marketing has the characteristics of convenience and transparency, low cost for both sides of supply and demand, and convenient communication of supply and demand information, which is very attractive to both sides and will be the trend of enterprise marketing channel model reform for a long time at present and in the future. Based on this, it is necessary to advocate and encourage small and medium-sized enterprises to vigorously develop the network marketing model based on e-commerce. Enterprises can make use of various ways under the e-commerce platform, such as establishing QQ group, publishing enterprise Weibo, advertising in forums and establishing their own portals for online sales. Because the establishment of network marketing mode also needs certain funds and costs, small and medium-sized enterprises have certain difficulties in this respect. They can use software closely integrated with Internet communication functions such as Internet call center and video conference system through monthly rent or annual rent, which will greatly reduce the cost and expense of enterprise informatization.
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