Hardware sales channels: go left or right?

Under the inflationary environment, price hikes in the Chinese hardware industry in 2011 have been overwhelming, and the gains are far ahead. As the most crucial link in the hardware marketing chain, the sales channel has become polarized, and even the development trend and direction are retrograde, such as the restoration of the office and the re-emergence of circulation. Online shopping and group buying play an increasingly important role when prices rise.

In 2011, how is the marketing channel going? How should we respond to new changes?

Agent or Direct

When constructing a nationwide sales network, manufacturers should establish a direct branch (or office) or rely solely on agents. The two methods have their advantages and disadvantages, and each has its own merits. Relying solely on agents, manufacturers are subject to agents, and many corporate strategies cannot be fully implemented. Customers and channel resources are entirely in the hands of agents. The fate of this region is in the waistbands of others, and there are always many variables. If you completely build your own branch or office, the cost and risk of the manufacturer are too high and the resources are not enough. At present, many large and medium-sized enterprises have emerged a model of parallel development of branches and agents. The branch marketing team is mainly responsible for brand promotion and assists dealers to expand the local market. The agents are responsible for local channel construction, cargo distribution and financial settlement. This model can find a balance in the manufacturer's game, and can complement each other and expand the local market.

Traditional or online shopping

The cost of traditional channels is getting higher and higher, and the homogenization of traditional channels has also emerged, which has made the competition in the industry worse. With the increase in the number of netizens, the maturity of settlement methods and the rapid development of logistics, online shopping has become a new fashion. Online shopping has become a new channel for Chinese hardware and is rapidly developing. On the one hand, manufacturers can establish their own specialty stores on Taobao and other professional online shopping sites. On the other hand, they can look for professional online shopping agents.

Retail or buy

When prices rise, the demand for group purchases grows sharply. It's all about house cars, food drinks, and everything. Manufacturers should grasp the opportunities for group purchase and set up large customer departments to specialize in group purchase business. Group purchase is an undercurrent channel for hardware, and it is developing from regular holiday purchases to normal ones. Therefore, group purchase is no longer a temporary work of the two major festivals of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Spring Festival, but should be a daily sales channel. Group purchase is the most effective channel for rapidly increasing sales, increasing profits, and increasing brand. Group buying is not just face-to-face one-on-one sales, it also includes online group buying. The group buying behaviors such as spikes can not be ignored, and the brand promotion function is also very obvious. The propaganda cost is lower than the traditional advertisement and the interaction is stronger.

Urban or rural

With the new trend of China's economic integration of urban and rural areas, the rapid development of the three-four-tier market is also increasingly becoming the focus of China's hardware. The struggle of the big brands in the first and second tier cities has become fierce. The rural market has become a new battlefield for everyone to contest. Big brands tend to infiltrate from the cities to the countryside, and as most small and medium-sized brands, the probability of success from the rural market will be higher. Many brands of investment have begun to weaken the role of prefectural agents, channel flat, directly looking for county-level agents. It is difficult for small brands to establish a foothold in the urban market. Third and fourth tier cities are ideal battlefields that can easily shake up the big-brand market structure and share a certain share. Therefore, China’s hardware has become a rural country.

Store or shop

KA Damaichang is the focus of hardware channel competition and its importance is undoubted. However, the cost and the threshold of KA have deterred many brands. Many brands eventually became enslaved by KA and worked hard to complete the work for the store. Small and medium-sized channels and distribution channels are showing signs of recovery and their role can not be ignored. Many brands choose the factory direct supply KA to reduce the channel links; at the same time, select agents with strong circulation channels as a useful supplement to KA stores.