Research On The Effect Mechanism Of Channel Mode From Marketing Value Chain In IT Industry

Research shows that the value of marketing channel accounts for 15% to 40% of the total value of goods and services, increasingly becoming one of the most important assets of the manufacturers. Marketing channel mode is important to the channel strategy, and it aims to win customers, enhance market share, transcend rival and gain fast growth. But in practice, the channel modes of many brands have failed.The differences of products are not obvious, and low cost operation also has no competitive advantage because of the entire industry's operating efficiency achieve some equilibrium. But the innovations of channel mode, such as DELL's direct sale, CMB online sale, have achieved huge success in the competitive market, because these strategies can offer more convenient trading to improve customer support and satisfaction. The innovations of channel mode have gradually developed to sustainable and competitive strategy.Hybrid channel has been a kind of trend. Many famous enterprises have begun to use hybrid channel, including sales team, e-commerce, phone sales, television shopping, channel partners and so on, accelerating the dynamic environment, bringing challenges and opportunities to manufacturers.Based on the need of theory and practice, this paper focuses on the channel mode and its effect mechanism in IT industry. The first problem is how to focus the study. This paper puts aside the traditional way about affecting factors and launches research from the participants of marketing value chain.This paper begins study from three aspects:(1) the effect mechanism of channel mode from consumers; (2) the effect mechanism of channel mode from middlemen; (3) the effect mechanism of channel mode from manufacturers.The effect mechanism of channel mode from consumers lies in the buying criterion. Different consumers have different buying standards, even though the same customer has different buying criterion in different time, different regional. So manufacturers must use corresponding marketing channels to satisfy the universality choices of customers. Although each channel has each advantage, but different channel covers different customers, so manufacturers must strive for the biggest one or several channels. This paper builds an AHP model of channel mode, calculats the weight of each channel for manufacturers to design channel model and allocate resource as reference.The effect mechanism of channel mode from middlemen lies in the requirements for profit. In order to obtain more short-term and long-term interests, middlemen will make full use of their resources and game with other middlemen and manufacturers to gain beneficial market environment. All channel members's motivation of striving for more benefit, and the change of market competition, the macro environment, consumer behavior and so on, will cuase the channel power transfer to the members who can master consumer behavior, who have more scarce resources, who have more strength, leading to raditional channels existing with new channels. Any behavior attempting to change the equilibrium channel mode will be resisted by channel power and cause conflicts between channel members. Although conflicts arouse from different regions or different kinds of channels, but the most serious conflicts arouse from the same kind of channel. The greater power of middlemen, the stronger ability to resist manufacturer introducing new channel. The middleman power has negative influence on distribution width.The effect mechanism of the channel model from manufacturers lies in the leader and designer role of manufacturers. Based on the control requirements, it is not suit to use a distributor, aiming to reduce the system risk and avoid the retail giants in IT field. Strengthen the brand influence on consumer, and weaken the middleman power. Based on the cost of the marketing value chain, the competition condition demands manufacturers control the transaction cost to smaller range. The characteristics facing commercial and customercail customers determine the integration channel mode is not suitable for IT industry. And few manufacturers once or will try to take integration channel mode.Becasuse middlemen has the ability to integrate resources from manufacturers, they have strong ability to control cost. This paper also discusses why manufacturers tend to build relationship channel mode, the relationship between manufacturer revenue and distribution width, etc.The research mainly uses qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis, normative analysis and empirical analysis including documentary analysis, mathematical analysis and statistical analysis in detail.The documentary analysis lays basis to ask problem and solve problem. Mathematical analysis and statistical analysis provide the ways for analyzing and solving problem.The main conclusions from empirical test:(1) the consumer channel preference has positive influence on distribution breadth; (2) the middleman power has negative influence on distribution width; (3) manufacturer power has positive influence on distribution width; (4) manufacturers power has no significant correlation with distribution length; (5) IT manufacturers would not like to construct integration channel mode, but like relationship channel mode which regards commitment and trust as the core factors.The major innovations:(1) using consumer utility theory from the choice of product to channels; (2) building a AHP model of the channel model in the condition of multi-channels; (3)illustralating the influence of channel structure from middleman power, manufacturer power and its change; (4) constructing a revenue model about a middlemen or two middlemen and manufacturer; (5) demonstrating the measure of manufacturer power, middleman power, consumer channels preferences and so on.