Analysis of liquor marketing channel management

Introduction: "Those who get the channel win the world" is a true portrayal of the importance of channel management of fast-moving consumer goods. The channel conflict is a struggle for interests, which is the result of maintaining market share, maintaining competitive advantage and vying for channel control. Channel managers of fast-moving consumer goods should conduct in-depth research and balance in various ways to improve the operational efficiency of channels and promote product sales.

I. the concept of fast-moving consumer goods

the concept and characteristics of fast-moving consumer goods: Fast Moving Consumer Goods refer to products that consumers consume quickly and buy repeatedly. Fast-moving consumer goods have three basic characteristics, one is convenience, and consumers can habitually buy them nearby. The second is visualization, and consumers are easily influenced by the atmosphere of the store when buying. Third, brand loyalty is not high: it is easy for consumers to switch different brands in the purchase of similar products. Products such as food, beverage, skin care and hair care are typical fast-moving consumer goods. Of course, drinks are also typical fast-moving consumer goods.

second, the role of marketing channels

the necessity of middlemen lies in solving the contradiction between producers and consumers in terms of quantity, variety, time and place, and transferring goods from producers to consumers. In this way, all three aspects can get certain benefits and play a certain role. For producers, it can make the products of liquor enterprises effectively enter the broad target market, save the occupation of funds, improve marketing efficiency and return on investment, gain the opportunity of survival and realize capital accumulation, and ensure the development of liquor enterprises; For middlemen, it can transform the original resources of nature into the commodity combination that people need, deliver the products to consumers as soon as possible, and get a certain amount of profits; For consumers, they can choose more goods and buy them cheaply at the same time.

III. Specific contents of channel management

First, manage the supply of dealers to ensure timely supply, and on this basis, help dealers to establish and straighten out the sales subnet, disperse the pressure of sales and inventory, and speed up the circulation of goods.

second, strengthen the support for advertising and promotion of dealers, and reduce the resistance of commodity circulation; Improve the sales force of goods and promote sales; Improve the utilization rate of funds and make it an important profit source for dealers.

thirdly, be responsible for the distributors and provide product and service support to the distributors on the basis of ensuring supply. Properly handle the problems such as product damage and deterioration, customer complaints and customer returns in the sales process, and effectively protect the interests of dealers from unnecessary damage.

fourthly, strengthen the management of order processing for dealers, and reduce the poor delivery caused by mistakes in order processing.

Fifth, strengthen the settlement management of dealers' orders, avoid settlement risks and protect the interests of manufacturers. At the same time, it will prevent dealers from using settlement facilities to create market chaos.

sixth, other management work, including training dealers to enhance their recognition of the company's philosophy, values and product knowledge. It is also responsible for coordinating the relationship between manufacturers and distributors, and between distributors and distributors. Especially for some unexpected events, such as price fluctuation, product competition, unsalable products, impact of surrounding markets or low-price dumping, we should give priority to cooperation and negotiation, convince people by reasoning, help distributors to eliminate their concerns in time, balance their mentality, and guide and support distributors to change to a direction conducive to product marketing.

There are many things in sales, but in a nutshell, there are two problems to be solved in sales: first, how to spread the products in front of consumers so that they can see them; The second is how to "shop" products into consumers' hearts and make them happy to buy them. In different times, enterprises have different ways to solve these two problems. Among them, LU ZHOU LAO JIAO CO.,LTD Group Co., Ltd. has made remarkable achievements in solving this problem:

LU ZHOU LAO JIAO CO.,LTD once faced such problems: the market price was chaotic, the goods were constantly fleeing, the merchants haggled with each other, which led to the dealers' meager profits or even losses, the loyalty of channel products declined, and even some dealers with large sales volume had to bear the year-end losses, which was a headache for many enterprises. If the manufacturer does not make up for the loss, it will lose its own inherent sales volume and let competitors take advantage of it; If you make up for the loss and lose a lot of profits, what is more important is what to do in the second year? Improper handling leads to lower and lower prices, chaotic market management, and price "scissors difference", and dealers turn around one after another.

the fundamental reason for the price scissors difference is that enterprises can't control the flow rate, flow rate and flow direction of commodities, and logistics can't be implemented according to the policies set by manufacturers at the beginning of the year. Further analysis, the author believes that there are the following problems: 1. The overall marketing level of merchants is generally inferior to that of enterprises; 3. In terms of market environment, the state guarantees the orderly competition in the market and laws and regulations; 4. The brand competition awareness of merchants is not enough; 5. There are some operational contradictions between the agency system and the rapid growth of enterprises; 6. Between enterprises and merchants: the consciousness of "cooperation partner" and "strategic alliance win-win" cannot find a balance point.

so how to effectively unify the "rapid growth" and "market stability" of enterprises? LU ZHOU LAO JIAO CO.,LTD Group grasps the key to effectively manage market channels and prices. Brand strategy: dual-brand building and multi-brand operation (dual-brand refers to Guojiao 1573 and Luzhou Laojiao Tequ, while multi-brand refers to other brands' brand structure in LU ZHOU LAO JIAO CO.,LTD: pyramid-shaped Guojiao 1573, LU ZHOU LAO JIAO CO.,LTD Tower and other brands in Taki), taking a series of measures as the slogan "market guides production, and production leads consumption".

in addition to establishing a large-scale logistics park. Set up a large-scale logistics company in the company headquarters: Hongtu Logistics. Fundamentally alleviate the lagging situation of logistics work. Ensure "Velocity", "Flow" and "Direction". Under the guidance of LU ZHOU LAO JIAO CO.,LTD's office in Kunming, Kunming Guojiao Company, where I work, has taken a series of measures to maintain channels this year:

First, inventory of distribution customers. Understand the products that have not been "digested" in the market. Prevent cross-shipment.

second, investigate the market product codes. Distinguish whether products belong to Kunming area according to different codes, find out the situation of cross-shipment, investigate the upstream channels and impose relevant penalties. So as to alleviate the market price confusion and the situation of endless goods.

third, internal receipt. Due to the existence of distributors and famous hotels in the early stage, it is a great threat to the price increase of products. Funds are provided by the head office, and Kunming Guojiao Company arranges relevant personnel to recycle drinks. Unify prices from the grassroots level. Between enterprises and merchants: the balance point of "cooperation partner" and "strategic alliance win-win"

iv. design of marketing channel management

designing a channel system requires analyzing the needs of consumers, establishing channel objectives and limiting factors, and establishing major channel alternatives and evaluation methods.

first, the designer of liquor marketing channel must know the service output level required by the target customers.

Second, determine the channel objectives and restrictions. Different types of liquor enterprises will determine their channel objectives according to the restrictions.

third, determine the channel model.

1. Direct sales channels. Direct sales channel refers to the direct supply of products by producers to consumers or users without the intervention of middlemen. The form of direct distribution channel is: producer-user. There are many ways of direct distribution in small-scale liquor workshops, but in summary, there are ordering distribution, self-opening retail sales and joint distribution.

2. Indirect distribution channels. Indirect distribution channel means that producers use middlemen to supply goods to consumers or users, and middlemen intervene in exchange activities. The typical form of indirect distribution channel is: producer-wholesaler-retailer-individual consumer.

3. Long channels and short channels. The length of distribution channels is generally divided by the number of circulation links, including the following four layers: ① Zero-level channels. ② Primary channels. (3) secondary channels or manufacturers-agents-retailers-consumers. ④ Three channels: manufacturer-agent-wholesaler-retailer-consumer. The China Wine City-Wine Expo held in LU ZHOU LAO JIAO CO.,LTD in March every year is a large-scale "market" for attracting investment every year. Dealers from all over the country come together to understand the products and feel the culture. It is one of the main ways of channel construction in LU ZHOU LAO JIAO CO.,LTD.

4. Wide channels and narrow channels. The width of the channel depends on the number of intermediaries of the same type used in each link of the channel. Liquor enterprises use many similar middlemen, and their products are widely distributed in the market, which is called wide channels. Liquor enterprises use fewer similar middlemen and narrow distribution channels, which is called narrow channels.

5. Single channel and multi-channel. When all the products of liquor enterprises are sold by their own direct retail outlets, or all of them are handed over to wholesalers for distribution, it is called single channel. Multi-channel may adopt direct channels in the local area and indirect channels in the field.

V. Market Positioning of Core Channels

The so-called core channel is to find out the channel platform that can give full play to the product power among all channels according to the brand positioning and pricing. Through the integration and promotion of this refined single channel, the brand can become a bright spot in the target market, and the bright spot through sustainable marketing can become a strong point. After the strong point forms a key breakthrough, the marginal channel can be naturally accepted and bought by consumers on the premise of capacity permission. To do this, we must first identify the target consumers.

first, core consumer positioning: the mainstream consumer groups that are most acceptable and can dominate consumption in the core channels. Taking Guojiao 1573 as an example, the brand positioning and pricing of Guojiao 1573 are high-end consumers, and the terminal price is around 658 yuan/bottle. Looking at the current consumption level in China, which group can afford it? Obviously, the target consumers should be targeted at people who are either rich or expensive, such as government officials, successful people in various industries and celebrities. They are outstanding representatives of business, politics, military, culture and art circles. Where do these consumers mainly spend? About 658 yuan/bottle of liquor should belong to etiquette consumption, which is about face, style, elegance and high-grade, showing the identity and the difference at this level. So high-end hotels and restaurants are the core channels of Guojiao 1573. Imagine, if the model market in the introduction period is located in a city market in the poor areas of northwest China, what will be the result of its capacity and influence in the whole country? This requires defining the core market on the premise of core channel positioning. Secondly, the market positioning of core channels is to find the target market with the most core channel power and channel capacity. The capacity of core channels is based on the proportion of promotion expenses related to support. Through analysis and comparison, Guojiao 1573 positioned the core markets in the introduction period in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, because these two markets are open frontier markets, which can not only accept elegant and high-grade new culture consumption, but also have a larger number of target consumers, whose consumption power is in the forefront of the country, and the core channels are the most developed and concentrated. The success of Guojiao 1573 is enough to prove the importance of core market positioning and selection. Of course, the success of core channel promotion is not only about choosing the right core channel and core market, but also about the precise integration of channel refinement.

As far as Kunming Guojiao Company as my internship is concerned, the main agents are Guojiao 1573 and Boda series products. The company implements the leadership responsibility system. National pits are divided into ka department (responsible for major supermarket chains in Kunming, such as Carrefour and Wal-Mart), direct catering department (high-end restaurants and restaurants in Kunming, such as Dadianyuan and Ai Ruochun) and circulation department (responsible for the second batch of distributors in Kunming). This year, the group buying department was set up again, aiming at the direct sales of enterprises and institutions. For Boda series products, the second batch of merchants and Boda circulation department are responsible for the investment promotion and sales of the whole Yunnan market. From the aspect of department setting, Guojiao series products are more mature in team building and department setting, and the responsibilities between departments are more clear. A smooth channel has been established for the arrangement of superiors and the communication of subordinates.

VI. Problems in channel management

First, the disunity of channels easily leads to contradictions among manufacturers.

second, the long channels make management more difficult.

thirdly, the channel coverage is too wide.

fourthly, liquor enterprises lack standards in choosing middlemen.

fifth, ignore the follow-up management of channels.

Sixthly, liquor enterprises can't control and manage terminals well by blindly building their own networks.

seventh, the channel selection of new products is chaotic.

VII. Find out the corresponding solutions to the problems existing in channel management.

First, liquor enterprises should solve the conflicts between liquor enterprises and middlemen caused by the narrow market, unify the channel policies of liquor enterprises, standardize the service standards, strengthen inspections to prevent goods from being smuggled, strengthen training and establish reward and punishment measures to prevent goods from being dumped, and cultivate the most suitable manufacturer relationship through the effective combination of humanized management and institutionalized management.

Second, it is necessary to shorten the time for goods to reach consumers, reduce links and reduce the loss of products, so that manufacturers can effectively grasp the relationship between supply and demand in the end market and reduce the possibility of profit diversion of liquor enterprises.

thirdly, manufacturers must have sufficient resources and ability to pay attention to the operation of each region, try their best to improve the level of channel management, and actively respond to the key attacks of competitors on weak links.

fourthly, when choosing middlemen, we should not overemphasize the strength of distributors, but ignore many problems that easily occur. The relationship between manufacturers should match the development strategy of liquor enterprises, and different manufacturers should correspond to different distributors. There should be certain criteria for selecting channel members, such as business scale, management level, business philosophy, acceptance of new things, spirit of cooperation, service level to customers, number of downstream customers and development potential.

Fifth, many liquor enterprises mistakenly believe that the channel can be completed once and for all, and they do not pay attention to emotional communication with channel members, which leads to many problems. On the whole, there are many factors that affect the development of channels. After the channel is completed, it still needs to be constantly adjusted according to the development of the market, otherwise there will be big problems.

Sixth, many liquor enterprises, especially some small and medium-sized liquor enterprises, must set up their own sales network regardless of the actual situation, but for various reasons, it has caused great economic losses to liquor enterprises. There are certain conditions that manufacturers must have to build their own channels: high brand appeal, influence and considerable strength of liquor enterprises; Stable consumer groups, market sales and profits of liquor enterprises, with considerable brand recognition and stable consumer groups; Liquor-making enterprises have acquired a relatively mature management model after considerable early market accumulation and so on. In addition, the key to self-built channels must pay attention to economies of scale and reach a certain scale, so that manufacturers can realize the lowest cost of the whole distribution and operation.

Seventh, any new product that successfully enters the market must give full play to the power of channels, especially the close cooperation with distributors. Dealers should have the same business objectives and marketing concepts as manufacturers. In terms of strength, dealers should have strong distribution capabilities and good credit.