Marketing Channel Strategy
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, taking the keenest interest in the workings of the channel for the focal product or service and acting as the prime mover in establishing and maintaining channel links. The chan- nel captain is often the manufacturer; it typically designs the overall go-to-market strategy, particularly for branded products. In the subsequent sections, we thus take the manufacturer’s perspective frequently when describing a marketing channel strategy, but we explicitly acknowledge that manufacturers are not the only ones that can function as channel captains. The OmnI-ChAnnel eCOsysTem 8 Manufacturers: Upstream Channel Members When we refer to manufacturers , we mean the producer or originator of the prod- uct or service being sold. In the modern retail marketplace, ownership of a brand can belong to the manufacturer (Mercedes-Benz) or a retailer (e.g., Arizona cloth- ing at JCPenney), or the retailer may be the brand (e.g., The Gap). Manufacturers can produce brands, or they can sell private labels, and these two broad categories feature some key distinctions. First, manufacturers that brand their products are known by those names to end-users, even if intermediaries distribute their offerings. Famous examples include Coca-Cola, Budweiser beer (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev), Mercedes-Benz, and Sony. Second, manufacturers that make products but do not invest in a branded name for them produce private-label products , and the downstream buyer (manufacturer or retailer) puts its own name on them. For example, Multibar Foods Inc. makes private-label products for the neutra- ceutical marketplace (health, diet, and snack bars); its branded clients include Dr. Atkins’ Nutritionals and Quaker Oats Co. The company takes care of research and development, so the expertise and knowledge it can provide make it valuable to brand companies that hire it to produce their products. 20 Branded manufactur- ers sometimes choose to allocate some part of their available production capacity to make private-label goods, though at the risk of helping a future competitor. In the U.K. market, private labels account for more than half the goods sold in leading supermarkets. 21 A manufacturer can produce a service too, such as the tax preparation services offered by H&R Block (franchisor) or insurance policies provided by State Farm or Allstate. These brands sell no physical products; rather, the companies create families of services to sell, which constitutes their “manufacturing” function. In turn, marketing channel functions typically focus on promotional or risk-oriented activities, such as when H&R Block promotes its services on behalf of both itself and its franchisees with a guarantee to find the maximum tax refund allowed by law. Insurance companies similarly tend to ignore physical products and focus on promotions (on behalf of independent agents in the marketplace) and risk (here, risk management is the very heart of the industry). Therefore, the lack of a physi- cal product that needs to move through the channel does not mean that channel design or management issues disappear. As these examples also suggest, the manufacturer is not always the channel captain. For branded, produced goods, such as Mercedes-Benz automobiles, the manufacturer clearly serves this role; its ability and desire to manage channel efforts proactively relates intimately to its investment in the brand equity of its offerings. But a private-label apparel or neutraceutical manufacturer is not evidently the owner of the brand name, at least from end-users’ perspectives, who instead see another channel member (e.g., the retailer) as the apparent owner. Nor does a manufacturer’s ability to manage production mean that it excels in other marketing channel activities. An apparel manufacturer is not necessarily a The OmnI-ChAnnel eCOsysTem 9 retailing or logistics expert. But there are some activities that nearly every manufac- turer must undertake. Physical product manufacturers must hold on to the product and maintain ownership of it, until the product leaves their manufacturing sites and travels to the next channel member. Manufacturers must engage in negotia- tions with buyers, to set the terms for selling and merchandising their products. The manufacturer of a branded good also participates significantly in promoting its products. Yet various intermediaries in the channel still add value through their superior performance of functions that manufacturers cannot, so manufacturers voluntarily seek them out to increase their reach and appeal. Intermediaries: Middle-Channel Members The term tải về 5.39 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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