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A lot of friends who are engaged in first-line marketing ask me, which one should we value for brands and channels? I was speechless for a moment, because this question is as difficult to answer as the question of "chicken or existing egg." However, both the brand and the channel are for corporate marketing services, and they are different methods of warfare in corporate marketing warfare. They complement each other. It is difficult to make a big difference by simply relying on brands and simply relying on channels.
There are many papers and books on brands and channels, both theoretical and practical. However, when a company always encounters such problems in its actual operation, it often fails to confirm the correct direction and leads to the loss of the enterprise. An instant chance.
In 2006, China’s pharmaceutical industry’s total output (sales) value finally exceeded 50,000 billion, but there were more than 1,300 pharmaceutical companies losing a total of 4.4 billion yuan. So many companies have called for a big brand route. The brand, like Coca-Cola and Pfizer, is a giant crocodile in China, and the people will name the brand drugs, so they can ignore the channels. In fact, this is a one-sided idea.
Most medicines, from the production line to the consumption line, need to solve three problems: the middlemen are willing to sell, the consumers are willing to buy, and the consumers can buy them. The first and third links are directly related to the channel, and the second link is directly related to the brand. Of course, the quality of the brand will also affect the previous link.
The marketing expenses of a company are relatively established. How to complete the limited marketing expenses, speed up and improve the logistics and capital flow of the enterprise, this is the responsibility and obligation that the brand and channel should bear. However, how to combine the two, it is necessary to judge according to the development stage of the product.
When the product is in the introduction and growth stage, the first thing that should be completed is the channel work, which solves the problem that the channel middlemen are willing to sell and buy, that is, the problem of commercial purchase and terminal distribution. At this point, channel work is more important than brand work. For example, a proprietary Chinese medicine for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, the first barriers to the emergence of many mature brands such as Diao Xinxuekang, quick-acting rescue pills, etc., how to break through the checkpoint into the drug channel is the first problem to be solved, marketing resources should be inclined to the channel, Increase the profitable proportion of channel providers, establish a good after-sales service, accelerate the frequency of terminal purchases, establish the confidence of commercial procurement and sales, and complete the cycle of logistics and cash flow.
When the product enters the middle and late stages of the company and the stable period, the brand work is stronger than the introduction period and the early stage of growth. However, the channel work cannot be slowed down at this time. At this time, channel work is mainly to expand product penetration rate, intercept competitors, and create a good environment for channel brokers to profit. At this time, channel work is as important as brand work and interdependent.
When the product enters the second growth period after the stabilization period, that is, the brand extension stage, the brand work will be more important than the channel work, with strong brand influence to pull back the channel and promote the completion of logistics and cash flow.
In general, when the product reaches a certain scale, it is difficult to break through the scale bottleneck by relying solely on the power of the channel. Brand work is a necessary condition for the expansion of the market scale.
With the growth of the OTC market, huge pharmacy terminals already have the basic strength to influence the Chinese pharmaceutical market. The market size of up to 100 billion yuan and the number of terminal stores of 230,000 has made every enterprise feel awkward. As a result, there are many companies fighting on the OTC line, and the number of OTC club members is steadily rising.
So how do you expand the market through the joint strategy of brand + channel in the OTC market? This requires a full understanding of the OTC market.
Retail pharmacies are platforms for special transactions between consumers and consumers, such as pharmaceuticals, health products or cosmetics. This platform can be big or small, and its ability to influence consumers to purchase content is different: through the display, clerk and DM single recommendation, etc., the consumer's purchasing attitude can be changed to some extent; by stopping selling certain goods, it can be Upstream companies intervene to a certain extent, although more than 60% of consumers will go to other pharmacies to continue to look for purchases because there is no specific drug in a pharmacy, but when a city is monopolized by a chain of pharmacies, consumers only Can turn to other similar varieties.
Therefore, ignoring the pharmacy terminal in the channel is fatal to the sales of the product, and relying solely on the platform of the pharmacy to open up the market for the market development of the product, its power is still far from sufficient.
There are many pharmacies that use their own brands to expand their profits. The intention is very good, but their own brands often ignore the allocation of corresponding marketing resources to spread widely. Therefore, the private brands that do not educate consumers through integration also fall into the slow-moving market. The dilemma. Because such self-owned brands occupy a relatively good display position, which damages the sales profits of some branded drugs, it is not worth the loss.
Similarly, regarding brand medicines, there are also some products that are high above, only paying attention to educating consumers, ignoring the influence of retail pharmacies on consumers, resulting in the inability of such products to land. Over time, consumers cannot buy products, and product loyalty It has gradually declined and turned to the embrace of other competitive products. For example, a well-known Chinese-funded Chinese medicine company has long operated a corporate brand, but has little dialogue with the terminal, and product sales naturally stagnate.
In 2006, Hunan People's Large Pharmacy cooperated with hundreds of brand drugs, let us see a win-win, successful brand + channel integration marketing strategy case. The author believes that such cases will appear repeatedly in the Chinese medical OTC market in the future. From the game to the joint, from individual combat to the army, a "1+1>2" flower will be displayed in the eyes of medical people.
Pito Porcelain Co., Ltd. , http://www.capitoporcelain.com