Hello! This is a little material for our training, I hope it will help you! China, the six marketing geeks in China, has gone through ups and downs for more than 20 years from planned economy to market economy. Both China's enterprise management and marketing have developed from the most primitive market instinctive reaction to a certain theoretical system, which reflects from one aspect that China's market is getting closer to the international market, such as Haier's service, Lenovo's channel management, Wahaha's brand operation, Changhong's marketing strategy, Galanz's low-cost expansion and so on. These excellent enterprises, no matter in the fields of internal management, product research and development, marketing and after-sales service, have won people's support and achieved great success with their unique side. Philip kotler's "Marketing Management" is regarded as the marketing bible, because it cultivated the first generation of marketers in China. The author himself is also called the godfather of marketing. Despite the guidance of advanced modern marketing theory, China's marketing has been baptized for more than 20 years. At the same time, with China's accession to the WTO, we have more and more direct contacts and exchanges with world-class marketing experts. However, throughout the domestic marketing field, even some well-known experts and enterprises, whether in their speeches, articles or even actual market operation, are puzzled by some basic concepts in marketing theory. I summed up about six phenomena, which I call the six marketing in China. The first blame: the marketing department and the sales department regard this problem as the first blame, because there are still a large number of enterprises with such problems today. I believe that most marketers are deeply touched. The author has come into contact with many enterprises and their bosses with different identities, and almost 80% of enterprises and their bosses are difficult to correctly distinguish or explain their respective functions. Anyone who has studied management or marketing knows that marketing department and sales department are completely different concepts. Although they are both market-oriented institutions, the main functions of the marketing department are: market information collection and research, marketing planning scheme formulation, advertising design and copywriting creativity, media planning and promotion effect evaluation, etc. The main function of the sales department is to directly complete the sales task of enterprise products and manage the marketing network. If the marketing department is compared to the general staff of an army, then the sales department is a fighting force that directly attacks the enemy. But in reality, many enterprises often refer to the sales department as the marketing department or only the sales department has no marketing department. As far as I know, it is very common for domestic enterprises to pay more attention to sales than marketing. The second monster: the sales channels and marketing network are chaotic. The third P of marketing 4Ps is channel, and the channel mentioned here refers to the channel from manufacturers to consumers. From the whole marketing point of view, the meaning of the word channel is too narrow, because the channel is vertical, and it needs to be criss-crossed, scientifically and reasonably layout the sales outlets to form a marketing network. For example, in the IT industry, where the channel is the most popular at present, the selection of dealers and the development and establishment of sales outlets often lack reasonable layout according to market characteristics and consumption, which is mainly reflected in the horizontal deficiency, that is, the information interaction between dealers and agents and the serious lack of resources, which has caused the IT industry to attach importance to the concept of channels and not to the concept of networks. So far, many IT companies simply don't understand the concepts of channels and networks, nor do they understand network cables, networks, network members and outlets. Once, a reporter from a computer newspaper told me many jokes. He doesn't even know what the subsystems and auxiliary systems of the marketing network are. As I said above, the formation of marketing network requires vertical cooperation among wholesalers, distributors and retailers, as well as cooperation between wholesalers and distributors and retailers, but this is only one of the network systems. In order to achieve the success of marketing, the company also needs the cooperation of auxiliary systems such as banks, advertising companies, technical departments, government departments and judicial departments. Only by cross-managing the two systems can we really win in the market. The third strange thing: the concepts of dealers and agents are vague, which is a common but confusing problem. Even many business management experts and marketing professors inadvertently confuse the two, especially in an enterprise's investment promotion project, many franchisees are called agents. So what is an agent and what is a dealer? What is the difference between an agent and a dealer? Philip kotler has made a very clear explanation in his book "Marketing Management": The so-called agent refers to enterprises and private institutions entrusted by enterprises to help enterprises find markets and even help enterprises sell products. Its obvious feature is that it doesn't own the product ownership, but only charges the corresponding commission, such as acting as an agent for actors and looking for agents for foreign products in China. However, dealers are very different. Although it is similar to an agent in some respects, it also sells enterprise products. When a distributor joins an enterprise to sell its products, it completely owns the ownership of the products, that is, the distributor will pay the product expenses in cash according to the requirements of the enterprise, thus obtaining the ownership of the products. So many companies sell their products to dealers, so they will die. If the dealer chooses the wrong enterprise, it will suffer heavy losses, so the dealer needs to bear certain risks. However, because the agent only pays part of the cooperation deposit (and some don't), there is no need to pay the product fee, and the product will settle the due commission with the enterprise after being sold, so the risk is not great. It can be seen that dealers and agents are really two completely different concepts. The fourth strange: the phenomenon that marketing and distribution are not divided is more common. Literally, it should be easy to understand. The theoretical meaning of marketing is that marketing refers to a social and management process in which individuals and collectives create, offer sales and exchange products and values with others to get what they need and want. Distribution only refers to the differentiation and transfer of products by using the function of marketing network. For example, an enterprise delivers goods to ten provincial distributors nationwide, and then these ten provincial distributors wholesale them to more than ten secondary distributors downstream. Secondary dealers sell their products at their own terminals and distribute them to dozens of retailers in downstream county-level cities, thus realizing the layer-by-layer differentiation and transfer of products, that is, distribution. It only refers to the transfer and sale of enterprise products in various channels, and marketing of course refers to all business activities of enterprises, including strategic mergers and acquisitions, capital operation and so on. Marketing is a big concept, but distribution is a concrete behavior, so the concepts of distribution and marketing are completely different and should not be confused. The fifth strange: Chain operation and joining are hot topics in China at present. One of the reasons for enthusiasm is that it can rapidly expand the market of enterprises. The successful operation of many foreign enterprises has set a good example for us, such as McDonald's and KFC. In China, beauty chains and catering chains such as Natural Beauty Chain, Malan Lamian Noodles, Quanjude Roast Duck and Little Sheep Hot Pot are relatively successful. Chain operation needs standardized management ability and brand integration and promotion ability. At present, enterprises in China are relatively weak in this respect, but due to the large market demand, this problem does not pose a threat to enterprises. Because the chain operation is invested by enterprises themselves, the faster the expansion, the more loopholes in management and funds, so franchising came into being. Franchising, as the name implies, is to attract enterprises and private investors by using their successful business experience, the influence of their own brands, and the so-called secret recipe and operational expertise. Authorized enterprises only need to export brand, management and skills to make profits, while franchisees can continue to use the brand of the licensor and even purchase special equipment for daily operation according to the management mode of the licensor. Both McDonald's and KFC have their own direct investment direct stores and some franchise stores invested by outsiders. Because of their strong brand influence, excellent unified management and unified logistics distribution ability, it is difficult for us to see which stores are self-operated chains and which stores are franchised. And it is said that there are thousands of merchants who apply to join McDonald's KFC every year, and even have to queue up ... how to distinguish these two concepts? Chain operation, as its name implies, is only an expansion mode of enterprises, while franchising is only a way of chain operation mode. The two are not equal, nor are they antagonistic. The sixth strange: it is difficult for ordinary people to distinguish between marketing director and marketing director. At the same time, because the enterprise itself is vague about these two posts, the concept of these two posts in society is also unclear. In the recent recruitment revelation of Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, the author saw such a ridiculous recruitment advertisement: vice president of sales-annual salary of 200,000; Marketing director-annual salary 1.5 million. When I am really confused, what is the scope of authority of the vice president of sales and the director of marketing? What does the marketing director of this company want to do? Or why only sales should have a vice president, then what about the marketing director? In fact, the marketing director has only recently become popular in the industry, mainly because of the changes in the internal organizational structure of enterprises, especially many enterprises have implemented market-oriented organizational structures, which have turned the marketing department into a marketing center and the post into a chief producer. The job description of the marketing director is very clear: under the authorization of the general manager of the enterprise, comprehensively manage the marketing work of the company; Marketing center is generally composed of marketing department, sales department and other related departments. However, some companies have a marketing department or a marketing company, and the marketing department or marketing company has a general manager, a sales director and a marketing director, which is easy to distinguish. Although the marketing director and the marketing director have the same title, their management scope is completely different. The marketing director is responsible for the overall management of the whole company's marketing work, and the marketing director is only responsible for the investigation of the enterprise market, the collection and arrangement of information, the planning and implementation of integrated marketing programs, and corporate public relations. The author was once introduced by a headhunting company to a group company in Dongguan. The position is marketing director, but the actual management work belongs to the scope of marketing director. Strictly speaking, this company actually needs a marketing director, not a marketing director. But someone told me that marketing director and marketing director are the same concept, and marketing director is actually the abbreviation of marketing director. It's ridiculous! Although the six strange phenomena of China marketing mentioned above have not caused any significant impact in practical work because of confusing concepts, as experts and scholars, as well as some well-known enterprises and marketers, they should not confuse these conventional concepts, just like a Chinese learner can't even pronounce Chinese Pinyin correctly. Especially in our daily marketing management, many marketers should strictly distinguish the functions and meanings of various concepts and don't confuse them at will. In this way, we can arrange all the work accurately, perform all the specific tasks well, and avoid making jokes and even causing unnecessary economic losses because of unclear concepts. Success is to be the smallest fool. The headquarters sent a salesman to the European branch. When he reported for duty, he brought a note written by the CEO of the company to the general manager of the branch: "This talent is outstanding, but he is addicted to gambling. If you can get him to quit gambling, he will become a hundred excellent salesmen. " After reading the note, the general manager immediately called the salesman to his office: "I heard that you like gambling very much. What do you want to bet on this time? " The salesman replied, "I bet everything." For example, I bet you have a mole on your left ass. Otherwise, I will pay you 500 dollars. " Hearing this, the general manager shouted, "Good. You take out the money! " Then, he took off his pants very neatly, asked the salesman to check it carefully, proved that there was no birthmark, and then received the money from the salesman. Afterwards, he called the CEO and proudly told him, "Do you know? I took care of the salesman. This is called dealing with a man as he deals with you, and fighting poison with poison. " "What's the matter?" So the general manager told the story. The CEO sighed and replied, "Before he left for you, he bet me $65,438+0,000, and he will definitely let you show him your ass within five minutes of seeing you." After a pause, the CEO added, "However, I bet the chairman $5,000 that you will show this salesman your ass." In this interlocking game, everyone is smart, but everyone is a fool, because they regard others as chips and become chips for others to gamble. But fools vary in size, and the biggest winner in the whole game is actually the fool who loses the least. The concept of the smallest fool comes from the biggest fool theory in economics. The so-called biggest idiot theory is that in economic activities, even if you know that something has little or no practical value, you are willing to pay a high price because you expect more idiots to buy it from you at a higher price. The key to the success of the game lies in your judgment on whether there is a bigger fool than yourself. If you can't find a bigger fool who is willing to buy from you at a higher price, then you are the biggest fool. The "biggest idiot theory" was first discovered by economist Keynes. 1965438+In August 2009, Keynes borrowed thousands of pounds to speculate on forward foreign exchange. In just four months, he netted more than ten thousand pounds. But three months later, Keynes lost all the profits he earned and the borrowed principal. Seven months later, Keynes set foot in cotton futures trading, gambled wildly and achieved great success. Since then, he has made various futures. Not satisfied, he went to speculate in stocks and made a lot of money for more than ten years. By the time he washed his hands in 1937, he had accumulated huge wealth that he could not enjoy all his life. By summing up his investment experience, this economist left a very explanatory gambling experience-the biggest idiot theory. Futures, securities, gambling and other speculative behaviors are all based on speculation on public psychology. For example, you know the true value of a stock is 10 yuan, but why are you willing to buy a share at the price of 20 yuan? Because you want someone to buy it from you for 25 pounds or more. Later, McGill summed up this view of Keynes as the biggest idiot theory. The key to speculation is to judge that there is a bigger fool than yourself. As long as you are not the biggest fool, it is a question of winning more and winning less. If you can't find a bigger fool who is willing to buy from you at a higher price, then you are the biggest fool. In the 1930s in Holland, there was a wave of looking for the biggest fool: the tulip wave. 1593, a professor of botany from Vienna gave a lecture in Leiden, the Netherlands, and brought tulip, a plant that the Dutch had never seen before, which was immediately found to be of great value in "spreading knowledge and appreciating art". Appreciating and cultivating tulips soon became a fashion and a wave of investment. The flower prices of rare varieties have gone up wildly. At 1630, a tulip can be exchanged for "two wagons of wheat, four wagons of rye, four strong bulls, eight fat pigs, twelve fat sheep, two horns of wine, four barrels of beer, two barrels of butter, a thousand pounds of cheese, a wedding bed in Zhang Huali and a spacious carriage". During the period of 1636, all the stock exchanges in Amsterdam and Rotterdam opened tulip trading, and nobles, farmers, maids and even window cleaners participated. Before a flower appeared on the ground, it changed hands as the price went up. People who have no money mortgage real estate loans for investment, and huge loans are constantly piling up on small flower stems. Everyone involved believes that a bigger fool will buy tulips from him or her at a higher price. The fluctuation of flower price has created a large number of rich people. Every time the flower price rises, more people firmly believe that this road to wealth can last forever. 1638, with the departure of some prophets, the tulip craze that lasted for nearly 8 years ushered in a tragic scene. The selling immediately turned into panic, the price of flowers plunged from the cliff, and soon the price of tulip bulbs fell to the price of an onion. As a result, the biggest fool appeared in this wave and surfaced: countless rich people became beggars, and countless people who mortgaged their houses were homeless ... We can't just regard this history as a story, nor can we just regard hype as a kind of stupidity. In 2004, a large amount of hot money poured into Chinese mainland real estate market. China's real estate price ranks ninth in the world, and some developed cities' real estate prices have risen as high as 15% or even higher. In such a market, whoever can't smell the fragrance of 1630 tulip may become the biggest fool at any time. In every game, you only need to wait for a while to answer who is the biggest fool, but to know whether you will become the biggest fool, you not only need to know yourself deeply, but also need to have superb ability to guess and judge the psychology of others. Keynes once said: Choose the most beautiful face from 100 photos and choose the prize. Of course, the final decision on which face is the most beautiful is the highest number of votes. How should you vote? The correct way is not to choose the face that you really feel good, but to guess who most people will choose and vote for her. As long as it is not the biggest fool, the remaining problem is the problem of winning more and winning less. From this point of view, the biggest winner in this game is actually the smallest fool. The biggest and smallest fools exist not only in economic life, but also in any field of social life. In fact, what we ancients said, "cleverness is mistaken by cleverness" and "cleverness in hiding is stupidity in hiding", all reflect various generalizations of the game results. In this society, there are only a few geniuses, and the invincible winner has not yet been born. Everyone will inevitably experience success and failure. The difference is that most people attribute success and failure to accident, patting their ass and rushing forward without looking back, resulting in "where to get up, where to fall", and more than once; Only a few patient people will calm down to observe and study their achievements and failures, discover and learn the regular things that exist in them, and make themselves smarter and stop being the biggest fool again and again. The laws, rules and effects introduced in this book are such dogmas that we can avoid being the biggest fool or trying to be the smallest fool in the game of social life. Some people say that avoiding mistakes means success. In this sense, it is easier and more realistic to learn the dogma of this book and become the smallest fool than to win all the victories and defeat all the opponents! Success is to be the smallest fool. This sentence may be rough, but it is not rough. For us who have been living in various games, this is definitely a goal worthy of our lifelong pursuit.