Innovation and Strategy Analysis of Marketing Channel Model of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
[Abstract] Diversified and personalized consumer demand, defects of traditional marketing channel model in some aspects, ubiquitous marketing competition and rapid development of Internet technology have become important reasons that affect the innovation of marketing 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, building customer relationship management system, building marketing channel alliance and vigorously developing online marketing, so as to make them gain comparative advantages in dynamic and uncertain market competition. Taking the small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an as an example, this paper makes a concrete analysis of the reasons and strategies for the innovation of marketing channel model.
[Keywords] Small and medium-sized enterprises; Innovation of marketing channel model; Ji' an
Today, with the increasingly serious homogenization of products, price and promotion have hardly become the important factors to beat competitors, but the marketing channels are different. Just like the famous American marketing scientist Don? Schultz said that it can give enterprises a differentiated competitive advantage 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 the survival, development and growth of enterprises. However, due to the uncertain influence of the external economic, political and legal environment and the weakness of their own scale, small and medium-sized enterprises want to beat their competitors in the fierce market competition environment. The disadvantages of high cost and low efficiency of their traditional marketing channel model have emerged one by one, and it is difficult to gain greater competitive advantages and breakthroughs. Therefore, it is necessary to 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 present situation of marketing channel mode of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji' an city
Ji' an city is located in the central and western parts of Jiangxi Province, in the old revolutionary base area of Jinggangshan, with an area of 25,271 square kilometers and a population of 4.81 million. In 211, the total GDP was 87.96 billion yuan, ranking sixth among 11 cities in Jiangxi Province, and the per capita GDP was 18,3 yuan, ranking ninth among 11 cities in Jiangxi Province. The industrial growth rate ranked third in the province in 212. The overall economic situation is at 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 policy 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 Ji 'an Municipal People's Government on Further Promoting the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises have developed rapidly, which plays a vital role in the sustained economic growth, the solution of employment problems and the development of scientific and technological innovation in the city. By the end of 211, the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises to GDP reached more than 5%, the tax paid accounted for more than 47% of the city's total fiscal revenue, and the urban jobs provided accounted for more than 6% of the city's jobs. 65% of patented inventions and more than 8% of new product development were completed by small and medium-sized enterprises.
The general situation of the marketing channel model of small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an City is as follows:
(1) The innovative concept of the marketing channel model is backward and the innovative ability is generally lacking
With the development of 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, which has created a good environment for pillar industries such as electronics, food, medicine, textiles, electricity and machinery. The development and completion of the National Jinggangshan Economic and Technological Development Zone, the National Export Processing Zone, the National Electronic and Information Technology Innovation Base, the National Wind Energy Industry Base, the National Processing Trade Industry Base, the National Taiwan Business Undertaking Base and the Jitai Corridor 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 are still stuck in a rut and do not think about making progress. They have not deeply realized that the innovation of marketing channel mode will bring enterprises greater competitive advantage 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 fail to conduct professional market research and forecast, and do not deeply study the customer's demand laws and characteristics, which often leads to the general innovation effect, which is quite different from expectations.
(II) Traditional marketing channel mode is the main mode
At present, small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an adopt different marketing channel modes, such as indirect channel mode led by wholesalers, channel mode led by retail terminals and Internet channel mode 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 commercial atmosphere, which leads to a slow development of retail formats. In addition, due to conservative ideas and the lack of popularization of digital technologies such as e-commerce, the modern channel model of online marketing has not been fully implemented, and as a result, the channel model dominated by wholesalers is still popular, which is difficult to change in a short period of time.
(C) The capital chain of marketing channels is likely to 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 continuing impact of the global financial crisis in 28, and the overall domestic economic situation is not very prosperous, the profits of many enterprises have fallen sharply. Most of the small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an City 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 their 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 is in trouble, but also the production and operation of enterprises are affected, which will seriously lead to bankruptcy and liquidation of enterprises.
(D) The control ability of channel marketing is weak
The small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an are of various types and different natures, including state-owned enterprises, foreign-funded enterprises, private enterprises and individual enterprises. In general, private enterprises have a good economic development momentum, accounting for half of the total economic output in the city. Even though the current international and domestic economic development environment is not very good, the number of enterprises still maintains a relatively fast growth rate. However, a common problem faced by most enterprises is that the effective profit of assets is low, 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 strong 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 and restricting the supply to other dealers, which will lead 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 can't be well promoted, channel services can't be well guaranteed, and their ability to maintain products is weak.
second, the reasons for the innovation of marketing channel model of small and medium-sized enterprises
(1) Diversified and personalized consumer demand is the fundamental motivation for the innovation of marketing channel model
According to the principle of sociology, when the per capita GDP of a country is between 1, and 3, dollars, the whole society will accelerate the transformation from a traditional unitary structure society to a diversified modern society. China's per capita GDP in 211 was $5,414, ranking 89th in the world. Therefore, the development trend of diversified consumer demand will exist for a long time in the next stage. In addition, due to the continuous development of society, economy and culture and the continuous improvement of people's material living standards, consumers are increasingly pursuing themselves and showing their individuality. The changing trend of diversified and personalized consumer demand sends a signal to enterprise marketing, and the core of marketing is to meet the needs of customers as much as possible. Guiding the whole marketing process with customer demand as the starting point 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, through the integration of 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.
(2) The traditional marketing channel model with certain defects forces SMEs to make internal amendments to the innovation of marketing channel model
At present, most SMEs adopt the traditional marketing channel model, mainly because of their small scale and insufficient funds. In order to save marketing costs, they can only use middlemen to connect with 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 can not quickly grasp the consumer's demand for product quality, color, style and so on, resulting in a serious lag in responding to customer demand. Second, the trading relationship between enterprises and middlemen is relatively loose, and they are fighting for each other, all aiming at maximizing their respective benefits. 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 channel processes, channel costs will further increase, consumers will bear higher product prices, which will ultimately affect the competitiveness of enterprises. The above defects will force enterprises to internally modify the channel model and strengthen their competitive advantage through innovation.
(3) Ubiquitous marketing competition is the external driving force for the innovation of marketing channel model of small and medium-sized enterprises
Competition is the characteristic of commodity economy, which is both a challenge and an opportunity in the development of enterprises. Relatively speaking, the competition among small and medium-sized enterprises is more intense due to the constraints of small scale and lack of funds. The competition of product quality, brand, price and channel all have a profound influence 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 marketing competition, they must understand and know the needs of consumers more quickly and conveniently, so as to meet the needs and desires of consumers more effectively. Therefore, from the perspective of marketing channel model, if the original inefficient and redundant marketing channel model is maintained, it will miss the opportunity and be taken the lead by competitors. For many enterprises, it is an inevitable choice to establish an efficient, fast and effective marketing channel model to quickly open and occupy the market and gain competitive advantage in a competitive environment.
(D) The rapid development of e-commerce is the platform guarantee for the innovation of marketing channel mode of small and medium-sized enterprises
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 speed of internet technology upgrading based on e-commerce platform is accelerating day by day, and marketing activities with the help of the internet under e-commerce platform have become a major change trend in enterprise production and operation. 7% of enterprises in the United States do business with the help of the Internet. According to statistics, the transaction volume of China's e-commerce market has exceeded 4.5 trillion yuan in 21 and reached more than 6 trillion yuan in 211, a year-on-year increase of 33% (see table below). In the next few years, China's e-commerce service industry will usher in its 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? Small and medium-sized enterprises in Ji 'an? It is found that some enterprises have started to build 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 begin to pay attention to the innovation of network channel mode, which is a good start.
Third, the specific measures to innovate the marketing channel model of small and medium-sized enterprises
(1) Building a Customer Relationship Management system to maintain a long-term, effective and sustainable relationship with customers
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a kind of customer relationship management. One-to-one theory of customer relationship? Based on the new management mechanism, which aims at improving 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 about 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 the 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