Marketing Intermediaries
Marketing intermediaries help the company promote, sell, and distribute its products to final buyers. They include resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing services agencies, and financial intermediaries. Resellers are distribution channel firms that help the company find customers or make sales to them. These include wholesalers and retailers who buy and resell merchandise. Selecting and partnering with resellers is not easy. No longer do manufacturers have many small, independent resellers from which to choose. They now face large and growing reseller organizations, such as Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Costco, and Best Buy. These organizations frequently have enough power to dictate terms or even shut smaller manufacturers out of large markets.
Physical distribution firms help the company stock and move goods from their points ofnorigin to their destinations. Marketing services agencies are the marketing research firms, advertising agencies, media firms, and marketing consulting firms that help the company target and promote its products to the right markets. Financial intermediaries include banks, credit companies, insurance companies, and other businesses that help finance transactions or insure against the risks associated with the buying and selling of goods
Like suppliers, marketing intermediaries form an important component of the company’s overall value delivery network. In its quest to create satisfying customer relationships, the company must do more than just optimize its own performance. It must partner effectively with marketing intermediaries to optimize the performance of the entire system. Thus, today’s marketers recognize the importance of working with their intermediaries as partners rather than simply as channels through which they sell their products. For example, when Coca-Cola signs on as the exclusive beverage provider for a fast-food chain, such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Subway, it provides much more than just soft drinks. It also pledges powerful marketing support.
Marketing intermediaries help the company promote, sell, and distribute its products to final buyers. They include resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing services agencies, and financial intermediaries. Resellers are distribution channel firms that help the company find customers or make sales to them. These include wholesalers and retailers who buy and resell merchandise. Selecting and partnering with resellers is not easy. No longer do manufacturers have many small, independent resellers from which to choose. They now face large and growing reseller organizations, such as Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Costco, and Best Buy. These organizations frequently have enough power to dictate terms or even shut smaller manufacturers out of large markets.
Physical distribution firms help the company stock and move goods from their points ofnorigin to their destinations. Marketing services agencies are the marketing research firms, advertising agencies, media firms, and marketing consulting firms that help the company target and promote its products to the right markets. Financial intermediaries include banks, credit companies, insurance companies, and other businesses that help finance transactions or insure against the risks associated with the buying and selling of goods
Like suppliers, marketing intermediaries form an important component of the company’s overall value delivery network. In its quest to create satisfying customer relationships, the company must do more than just optimize its own performance. It must partner effectively with marketing intermediaries to optimize the performance of the entire system. Thus, today’s marketers recognize the importance of working with their intermediaries as partners rather than simply as channels through which they sell their products. For example, when Coca-Cola signs on as the exclusive beverage provider for a fast-food chain, such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Subway, it provides much more than just soft drinks. It also pledges powerful marketing support.
Coca-Cola assigns cross-functional teams dedicated to understanding the finer points of each retail partner’s business. It conducts a staggering amount of research on beverage consumers and shares these insights with its partners. It analyzes the demographics of U.S. zip code areas and helps partners determine which Coke brands are preferred in their areas. Coca-Cola has even studied the design of drive-through menu boards to better understand which layouts, fonts, letter sizes, colors, and visuals induce consumers to order more food and drink. Based on such insights, the Coca-Cola Food Service group develops marketing programs and merchandising tools that help its retail partners improve their beverage sales and profits. For example, Coca-Cola Food Service’s Web site, www.CokeSolutions.com, provides retailers with a wealth of information, business solutions, and merchandising tips. “We know that you’re passionate about delighting guests and enhancing their real experiences on every level,” says Coca-Cola to its retail partners. “As your partner, we want to help in any way we can.” Such intense partnering efforts have made Coca-Cola a runaway leader in the U.S. fountain soft-drink market.
Competitors
The marketing concept states that, to be successful, a company must provide greater customer value and satisfaction than its competitors do. Thus, marketers must do more than simply adapt to the needs of target consumers. They also must gain strategic advantage by positioning their offerings strongly against competitors’ offerings in the minds of consumers.No single competitive marketing strategy is best for all companies. Each firm shouldconsider its own size and industry position compared to those of its competitors. Large firms with dominant positions in an industry can use certain strategies that smaller firms cannot afford. But being large is not enough. There are winning strategies for large firms, but there are also losing ones. And small firms can develop strategies that give them better rates of return than large firms enjoy
Publics
The company’s marketing environment also includes various publics. Apublic is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives. We can identify seven types of publics:
Competitors
The marketing concept states that, to be successful, a company must provide greater customer value and satisfaction than its competitors do. Thus, marketers must do more than simply adapt to the needs of target consumers. They also must gain strategic advantage by positioning their offerings strongly against competitors’ offerings in the minds of consumers.No single competitive marketing strategy is best for all companies. Each firm shouldconsider its own size and industry position compared to those of its competitors. Large firms with dominant positions in an industry can use certain strategies that smaller firms cannot afford. But being large is not enough. There are winning strategies for large firms, but there are also losing ones. And small firms can develop strategies that give them better rates of return than large firms enjoy
Publics
The company’s marketing environment also includes various publics. Apublic is any group that has an actual or potential interest in or impact on an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives. We can identify seven types of publics:
- Financial publics. This group influences the company’s ability to obtain funds. Banks, investment analysts, and stockholders are the major financial publics.
- Media publics. This group carries news, features, and editorial opinion. It includes newspapers, magazines, television stations, and blogs and other Internet media.
- Government publics. Management must take government developments into account. Marketers must often consult the company’s lawyers on issues of product safety, truth in advertising, and other matters.
- Citizen-action publics. A company’s marketing decisions may be questioned by consumer organizations, environmental groups, minority groups, and others. Its public relations department can help it stay in touch with consumer and citizen groups.
- Local publics. This group includes neighborhood residents and community organizations.Large companies usually create departments and programs that deal with locacommunity issues and provide community support
For example, the P&G Tide
Loads of Hope program recognizes the importance of community publics. It provides mobile laundromats and loads of clean laundry to families in disaster-stricken areas. P&G washes, dries, and folds clothes for these families for free because “we’ve learned [that] sometimes even the littlest things can make a difference.”5
Loads of Hope program recognizes the importance of community publics. It provides mobile laundromats and loads of clean laundry to families in disaster-stricken areas. P&G washes, dries, and folds clothes for these families for free because “we’ve learned [that] sometimes even the littlest things can make a difference.”5
General public. A company needs to be concerned about the general public’s attitude toward its products and activities. The public’s image of the company affects its buying.
Internal publics. This group includes workers, managers, volunteers, and the board of directors. Large companies use newsletters and other means to inform and motivate their internal publics. When employees feel good about the companies they work for, this positive attitude spills over to the external publics. A company can prepare marketing plans for these major publics as well as for its customer markets. Suppose the company wants a specific response from a particular public, such as goodwill, favorable word of mouth, or donations of time or money. The company would have to design an offer to this public that is attractive enough to produce the desired response.
Customers
customers are the most important actors in the company’s microenvironment. The aim of the entire value delivery network is to serve target customers and create strong relationships with them. The company might target any or all five types of customer markets. Consumer markets consist of individuals and households that buy goods and services for personal consumption. Business markets buy goods and services for further processing or use in their production processes, whereas reseller markets buy goods and services to resell at a profit. Government markets consist of government agencies that buy goods and services to produce public services or transfer the goods and services to others who need them. Finally, international markets consist of these buyers in other countries, including consumers, producers, resellers, and governments. Each market type has special characteristics that call for careful study by the seller.
Internal publics. This group includes workers, managers, volunteers, and the board of directors. Large companies use newsletters and other means to inform and motivate their internal publics. When employees feel good about the companies they work for, this positive attitude spills over to the external publics. A company can prepare marketing plans for these major publics as well as for its customer markets. Suppose the company wants a specific response from a particular public, such as goodwill, favorable word of mouth, or donations of time or money. The company would have to design an offer to this public that is attractive enough to produce the desired response.
Customers
customers are the most important actors in the company’s microenvironment. The aim of the entire value delivery network is to serve target customers and create strong relationships with them. The company might target any or all five types of customer markets. Consumer markets consist of individuals and households that buy goods and services for personal consumption. Business markets buy goods and services for further processing or use in their production processes, whereas reseller markets buy goods and services to resell at a profit. Government markets consist of government agencies that buy goods and services to produce public services or transfer the goods and services to others who need them. Finally, international markets consist of these buyers in other countries, including consumers, producers, resellers, and governments. Each market type has special characteristics that call for careful study by the seller.
No comments:
Post a Comment