How Does An Agent React To Marketing Channels?

Agents are the intermediate links of marketing channels, which are usually attacked by upstream manufacturers and downstream retailers.

However, in recent years, many excellent agents have grown stronger and began to turn over to control manufacturers and retailers.

There are three interdependent and interdependent relationships between agents and manufacturers and retailers.

The relationship and status between the three are always in the process of dynamic development. Who has more resources will become the leader in the marketing chain.

If an agent wants to challenge a manufacturer or retailer, he must speak with strength.

Weaving four net palm control manufacturers

The nine Xin group was formerly a professional agent sales company in Northeast China. In 1995, it started to get the northeast three agents of Ji'nan Dongfeng pharmaceutical factory.

Thanks to its excellent management, sales of nine Xin group increased at an average annual rate of 2030%.

In 1997, the nine Xin group bought out the national distributor of Xinfu mite cream. After breaking up the conflict with its former owner, Ji'nan Dongfeng pharmaceutical factory, it created its own brand name "mitting".

The monopolistic positioning of "mites, trust mites" has quickly become a leader in the industry.

Nine Xin group is a typical representative of agents to upstream control manufacturers.

There are four common patterns for agents to get rid of agency constraints and develop upstream: share manufacturers, customize their own products to manufacturers, create their own brand by OEM and create their own industrial companies.

General agents may not be able to completely control manufacturers, but they will put forward various policies and financial support in terms of entry fee, advertising fee, promotion fee, personnel wages and cargo loading.

The only bargaining chip between agents and manufacturers is their network resources.

The network resources of agents can be summarized in the following four networks.

The first net is a fast promotion network.

For manufacturers, the most important resource for agents is to have a rapidly promoted sales network.

Agents generally have their own retail network and distribution channels, including large sales convenience stores and specialized line sales channels such as special terminals.

Agents should focus on a certain channel according to their product characteristics and their own resource advantages, and turn them into their biggest advantages.

Compared with manufacturers, agents and manufacturers have the following advantages: good channel relationship, more preferential cost policy, good sales promotion execution and timely payment recovery.

It is far from enough for agents to have only channels, and they must have strong promotional capabilities.

Otherwise, the manufacturers directly skip the direct cooperation between agents and large retailers such as WAL-MART and Carrefour.

With the decline of traditional channels and the rise of large scale business super businesses, the role of logistics agents is decreasing, so many logistics agents begin to pform into promotional agents.

The common points of promotion agents and logistics agents are both channels. The difference is the ability of integrated marketing and promotion.

The logistics agent is a typical dealer, after the goods are spread to the terminal, they rely on the publicity of the manufacturer or the natural sale to digest the inventory products.

The promotion agent is a typical dealer who can launch the local marketing method according to local conditions according to the overall marketing strategy of the manufacturer, and work together with the manufacturers to speed up the circulation of goods.

The reason why the nine Xin group was successful was that he had completed the pformation from a logistics agent to a promotion agent earlier.

The second network is marketing talent network.

The core of marketing is talents, and the agents with better performance generally have a group of marketing teams that can fight well.

The marketing team should have both the commander-in-chief and the good business manager and promoters.

The flow of marketing personnel is faster, and only by establishing a sound assessment and incentive mechanism can business personnel get on like a duck to water.

The team spirit, coordination and executive ability of marketing personnel can not be formed overnight, and need continuous training, training and adjustment.

The third net is peripheral relationship network.

If an agent wants to be based on the local environment, he should not only deal with the relationship with industry and commerce, taxation, city management and industry supervision departments, but also deal with the relationship with media, advertising and other service industries.

Relationship network is a smooth guarantee system for agent marketing business.

In the event of a crisis, the relationship network will even play a role in bringing the dead back to life.

Group buying relationship network is also a favorable supplement to marketing channels.

The fourth net is a consumer network.

Marketing is a war for resources, and the final focus of the competition is no doubt the consumer.

It's especially important to find fish in fish where you fish.

The first task of many products, especially luxury goods, is to find the target consumers first.

With the intensification of marketing competition, one-to-one marketing has gradually become the mainstream of marketing.

If we set up a set of valuable consumer networks in advance, we will undoubtedly save a lot of money and time.

At present, many far reaching agents have begun to build their own consumer network through conference marketing, club marketing and CRM system.

Just imagine that once agents have a loyal group of consumers, will agents still be so difficult to distribute products in the same target market?

When agents choose a wide space, they are also able to straighten up their waist and challenge manufacturers.

Vertical and horizontal joint threat retailers

With the increasing internationalization and scale of retailers, agents increasingly feel that they are struggling to ensure that many agents have to fall into the embarrassment of being trapped in the process of cooperation with retailers.

But some agents have successfully challenged agents in the cracks.

Linyi Dong Du economic and Trade Co., Ltd. is a large seasoning agent in southern Shandong. It has dozens of famous brand condiments and almost all the best condiments.

In 2002, in order to curb the increasing charges of more and more retailers, the Tung Tung economic and trade company joined the six largest food agencies in Linyi to establish the food chamber of Commerce in the city and boycott retailers' arbitrary charges.

Later, retailers in Linyi stopped buying goods from neighboring Ji'nan to fight against agents such as Dong Du economic and trade. However, retailers eventually sat down to negotiate with agents on account of higher purchase costs and less distribution.

In the fierce struggle between agents and retailers, the Linyi food chamber of Commerce led by Dong Du has won the victory and won more favorable policies and support.

This is the first victory that Chinese agents have successfully controlled against retailers.

In 2003, Dong Du economic and trade began to develop supermarket chains in southern county cities and enter the retail industry.

The number of agents in large and medium-sized cities is much larger than that in small and medium-sized cities, so the number of products that a single agent in large and medium-sized cities master is obviously less than that of small and medium-sized cities.

Large and medium cities agents are much more difficult to organize and fight against retailers because of their scattered products. It is very unrealistic to completely counter the retailers like the east capital business, but agents can always get partial victory in the process of fighting with the powerful retailers.

The disparities between agents and retailers are like ants and elephants. How do ants fight elephants?

Only vertical and horizontal forces compete against elephants with external strength.

First of all, we need to build a joint fleet of products.

If an agent wants to deal with a bullish retailer, there must be enough bargaining power -- selling products.

Imagine Coca-Cola, Kangshifu and other famous products agents and supermarket shopping negotiations can not be easier than ordinary products?

Retailers need to rely on best-selling products to make profits, increase popularity and enhance the overall image of stores.

Only by selling more best-selling products and negotiating with retailers in the capacity of large group customers can agents get preferential policies such as reducing entry fees, increasing the number of promotions, and giving the head end of the pile.

Agents should try to improve the concentration of products in the formation of best selling products fleet.

Generally speaking, when a well-known company chooses agents, it requires agents not to directly compete for products, but generally acquiescence towards non competitive products.

For example, agents of well-known soy sauce brands can choose other brands of vinegar, sauce, vegetable oil and other condiments.

If you concentrate on your own advantages, you will be able to get a breakthrough in the negotiations locally.

Best-selling product joint fleet is the most important bargaining chip for agents to challenge retailers.

Secondly, the solidarity Association members collectively fight.

In 2003, the Shanghai roasted seeds Association successfully won the initiative in organizing the distributors and manufacturers of the melon seeds, with the "collective stop to supply Carrefour".

The victory of Linyi Dong Du economic and Trade Co., Ltd., and the local supermarket, also won the support of other food agents.

The profit space of retailers' squeezing agents is a common phenomenon, which is affected by all agents.

The ability of a single agent is limited after all, and sometimes it must be combined with other agents and manufacturers to compete with powerful retailers.

The successful cases of collectives against the retailers by the domestic Association of solidarity members are very few, because the agents lack the sense of collective cooperation and always hold the idea of "snipe fight, and benefit from fishing".

At present, the agency associations in China are generally loose, usually lacking communication and management.

When retailers are seriously squeezing them, they are forced to join forces in an unbearable state, and the degree of engagement and cooperation between them can not really unite them. Therefore, the management and communication of the association should be strengthened.

Third, rely on manufacturers to separate mountains and fight cattle.

When negotiating with retailers, agents should play the role of a powerful manufacturer.

Negotiating as a spokesman for a well-known manufacturer will overwhelm retailers on the momentum.

As an agent of Coca-Cola said, "my agent Coca-Cola does not see how much profit it can bring to me, but sees its influence in the negotiation of shopping malls".

Therefore, many smart agents should choose a highly known product to support the facade when they combine their agents, then choose some unknown products to improve their profits.

We can get more concessions through bundling collective bargaining between famous and well known products and non famous products.

The east capital business is usually purchased in the whole rack when negotiating with the shopping malls, and of course, it can get more concession.

Fourth, let retailers check and balance retailers.

There is also serious competition among retailers. There is competition between convenience stores and hypermarkets, and there is competition among stores.

Many stores give consumers the impression of "low price every day" and continue to price each other.

"The wool comes out on the sheep". Finally, the retailer completely pfers the price loss to the agent and lets the agent complain.

The agent can encourage the sale of single product monopoly to avoid vicious price cuts.

The so-called "single product monopoly" is to sell products of different styles, varieties, models and packages in different stores.

If new products enter the market, they can choose only one shop from several retail giants, and give a large amount of promotional support to the store to support the store.

On the one hand, establishing a good cooperative relationship with the store, on the other hand, it will attract the attention of other hypermarkets and reduce the difficulty of negotiation.

There is competition between convenience stores and large supermarket stores.

Convenience stores generally do not have any entry fees and other expenses. With the expansion of products in convenience stores, consumers will go to supermarkets and stores to find the product.

When negotiating with a large retailer again, agents generally have the initiative to negotiate.

Fifth, build self complementary network indifferent retailers.

Recently, Huiyuan Juice began to launch agents to set up their own stores.

Before that, many agents have set up their own franchised stores or chain supermarkets under the guidance of manufacturers to balance the increasingly demanding retailers.

Ji'nan Jiabao milk, Henan Shuanghui meat and other enterprises have done relatively successful in this respect.

Although the self built network is relatively large investment, it is worth considering from a long-term perspective.