Should Resellers Control Your Marketing?
Manufacturers, importers, and wholesalers who cannot or do not want to have their own distribution channels rely on resellers to communicate with their final. Of course, the Internet provides a different route to market. Regardless of the hype generated by hosting and e-commerce firms, this does not eliminate logistical issues, credit control, or Internet-marketing competence. (However, such a topic is outside the scope of this article.)
Even if reseller margins are expected to be in the 30 percent range or more, resellers may provide considerable financial benefits. The possibility of losing control of nearly everything linked to your brands, including market positioning, consumer perceptions, and price, is a significant concern.
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| Should Resellers Control Your Marketing? |
Listed below are a few instances
. An importer of name-brand goods referred to himself as a "wholesaler" on many occasions. For numerous years, his primary brand was marketed to the general public through a well-known network of specialty stores, with great success. One of the recommendations we made was to create a new website that not only clearly described the brand's characteristics and benefits but also included a blog.
However, each major product's "suggested" retail costs were also listed. The goal was to strengthen brand positioning and set pricing expectations in end-users minds, making it simpler to make a beneficial pre-purchase comparison.
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| Listed below are a few instances |
. The same importer also turned down our advice to devote significant time and effort to develop a strong brand identity for his own product line, which would provide similar product benefits at lower prices and could be distributed through various resellers and/or directly to end-users via the Internet. It wasn't the first or last time we said, "If there's going to be a competition, let it be you."
. A major rural product producer sold a wide range of items through resellers, who simultaneously sold his competitor's items via the same channels. Our recommendation to greatly improve the brand identity through a mixture of advertising, trade promotion, and, in particular, point-of-sale merchandising was adopted by the firm.
One important conclusion was that the packaging of numerous goods was insufficient, resulting in severe annoyance. The competition outperformed us by a wide margin.
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| Listed below are a few instances |
. We also suggested that end-users had a considerably easier time identifying and selecting products. Custom-made display displays with product selection guidelines were produced and placed in the reseller's showroom at no cost to the reseller.
We proposed and were granted permission to run a "mystery shopper" campaign for a large camera company. The findings were important, given that highly trained salespeople at reseller stores invariably utilized our client's goods personally, but did not consistently advocate or sell them to end customers.
Going beyond the basics
Management will have its own opinions on what is wrong and, more than likely, some preconceived notions on how to proceed. There will almost always be opposition to any reforms from some sectors. For a consultant, the most difficult component is persuading management that internal navel-gazing, no matter how thorough, may not be sufficient to find potentially relevant issues and answers. Especially if the latter appears to be extreme in any way.
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| Going beyond the basics |
There are unlikely to be any two circumstances that are similar. Even though the proposed solutions differ, the evaluation process is strikingly similar. ASPAC Consulting, the author's firm, uses tried-and-true methodologies that typically contain the following stages:
- If any consumer surveys or research has been undertaken, it should be reviewed.
- Sales analysis is the search for trends in buying behavior over a year or so, rather than the normal accounting items. This can reveal not just any negative measures taken by particular resellers, but also any rising tendencies.
- Not just with management, but with a wide variety of client staff. It should come as no surprise that employees in the order department, warehouse, and loading dock have a clear awareness of what works and what doesn't, as well as how consumers feel about the firm, its goods, and services. We assure you that nothing negative will be linked to the person who provided the information.
- External conversation with a number of resellers - again at all levels, including front-line personnel as well as management, and addressing similar concerns as those raised above. The people we interview will tell us things they would never tell a real corporate official in confidence.
- Preparation of "strategic choices" combining results and proposing some possible solutions and likely consequences that would impact various partners in the distribution chain.
- If applicable, the scope of the planned task
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| Should Resellers Control Your Marketing? |
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| Listed below are a few instances |
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| Listed below are a few instances |
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| Listed below are a few instances |
- यदि कोई उपभोक्ता सर्वेक्षण या शोध किया गया है, तो उसकी समीक्षा की जानी चाहिए।
- बिक्री विश्लेषण सामान्य लेखांकन मदों के बजाय एक वर्ष या उससे अधिक समय में व्यवहार खरीदने के रुझानों की खोज है। यह न केवल विशेष पुनर्विक्रेताओं द्वारा किए गए किसी भी नकारात्मक उपाय को प्रकट कर सकता है, बल्कि किसी भी बढ़ती प्रवृत्ति को भी प्रकट कर सकता है।
- न केवल प्रबंधन के साथ, बल्कि विभिन्न प्रकार के क्लाइंट स्टाफ के साथ। यह कोई आश्चर्य की बात नहीं है कि ऑर्डर डिपार्टमेंट, वेयरहाउस और लोडिंग डॉक के कर्मचारियों को इस बात की स्पष्ट जानकारी है कि क्या काम करता है और क्या नहीं, साथ ही साथ उपभोक्ता फर्म, उसके सामान और सेवाओं के बारे में कैसा महसूस करते हैं। हम आपको विश्वास दिलाते हैं कि सूचना प्रदान करने वाले व्यक्ति से कुछ भी नकारात्मक नहीं जोड़ा जाएगा।
- कई पुनर्विक्रेताओं के साथ बाहरी बातचीत - फिर से सभी स्तरों पर, जिसमें फ्रंट-लाइन कर्मियों के साथ-साथ प्रबंधन भी शामिल है, और ऊपर उठाए गए समान चिंताओं को संबोधित करना। जिन लोगों का हम साक्षात्कार करते हैं, वे हमें ऐसी बातें बताएंगे जो वे विश्वास में किसी वास्तविक कॉर्पोरेट अधिकारी को कभी नहीं बताएंगे।
- परिणामों को मिलाकर "रणनीतिक विकल्प" तैयार करना और कुछ संभावित समाधानों और संभावित परिणामों का प्रस्ताव करना जो वितरण श्रृंखला में विभिन्न भागीदारों को प्रभावित करेंगे।
- यदि लागू हो, तो नियोजित कार्य का दायरा
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| Going beyond the basics |
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