The Topology Of Value Stream And Marketing Modeling

Marketing is a mature applied science with the basic marketing concept of customer need. It is a complete system consisted of market analysis, market segmentation targeting, market positioning (STP), marketing mix (4Ps). This framwork has been proved to be effective and faultless no matter in practical operation, strategy design or theoretical analysis, which makes marketing the most impressive, active, worth studying core curriculum in business management. There is no lack of themes of marketing strategy and model in recent years'marketing research, but the abstraction and discussion about marketing analytical framework is rare, which leads to a phenomenon:the successful marketing models or strategies emerge in endlessly, but in the real world, there are only random individual cases. It is infeasible to easily copy or imitate any successful marketing strategy or model. The practical way is to capture the framework of marketing activity and find the essence of success first, and then make the decision according to one's own marketing organization structure. Similarly, each enterprise has its specific marketing organization structure which reflects the industry market form and the inherent law and further decides the particular marketing strategy applicable. This is the fundamental assumption of the paper, also be the starting point of the study.The paper presents the concept "value stream" through the work of discussion on the essence of marketng and abstraction of the core substance of management discipline. By means of reviewing and neatening of correlation theories, the meaning and the status in marketing of "value stream" is clarified. As the object of marketing study,"value stream" uses "value" which is also the core concept of marketing as the foundation and the "stream" to express the value movement in marketing activities. It provided a whole new perspective for marketing strategy analysis and integrates the Macro-marketing and the Micro-marketing.On the basis of marketing concept "value stream", the basic topology theory and thought is introduced and the concept of "the topology of value stream" is put forward. It is a new analytical framework based on the complexation of value stream pattern and marketing organization structure. It comes from the evolution of the theoretical basis including marketing core ideas, value chain theory, stakeholder theory, business ecosystem theory and topology theory, etc. Since that, the study adopts the normative research methods and mainly relys on deductive inference to accomplish the framework of the topology of value stream.For visual, the market structure and the marketing organization can be abstracted into topology patternings, and the graphs can be distinguished according to the topology classification method. The marketing organization topological graph that abstracted from enterprise's marketing activities reflects the essence of market structure and marketing organization. Similarly, the classification of marketing organization contributes to understanding the relationship among marketer, customer and other stakeholders in the marketing process and setting proper strategy and management approach. It is determined by the intrinsic nature of topology to provide significant classification thought in description of marketing organization structure and value stream movement, which is also the reason of introducing topology into value stream.The topology of value stream can provide a reliable analytical framework for marketing practice as well as ideas for marketing model innovation. Besides that, the philosophical thinking contained is also worth digging for marketing workers.The effectiveness of the topology of value stream framework is verified through applying in several typical marketing model existed in real economic society (Pulled marketing model of Dupont Company, Tollbooth strategy, Taobao Shopping Platform, Leasing Company). Several marketing model innovation ideas based on the topology of value stream are also summarized:(1) Establish the connection between key points in value stream;(2) Adding optional value stream into the original system;(3) Increasing or decreasing key points in original value stream;(4) Changing the topology of value stream completely;(5) Creating new value expectation.The paper also raises the complete framework of "Mapping, Matching, Modeling, Meeting, Marketing mix, Measuring and Modifying"(7M) based on the topology of value stream analysis. The topology of value stream recognizing includes the marketing organization (network) structure recognizing, the customer and stakeholders'value recognizing and the value stream vector (source, direction, end) recognizing. The implemention of marketing model measuring is mainly according to two aspects:(1) If the marketing model consistent with marketing organization structure (according to the market rules)?(2) If the marketing model consistent with the value expectation (direction) of marketer's, customer's and stakeholders'?The topology of value stream analysis framework is applied in two marketing model innovation cases——Tanboocel Industry Alliance and Etam Brand. In case Tanboocel IA, we analyze the whole industry alliance marketing topology value stream in Ji Gao Company's view. The analysis indicates the cooperation and competition relations among companies in the industy chain, and it is a meso-level, industry level analysis. In case Etam, we observe the marketing organization structure and the value stream route from the view of China Etam Company. Comparing to the emphasis of industry characteristics in Tanboocel IA analytical framework, the analysis of Etam value stream is more permeated with enterprise's own characteristics. It is a more micro perspective. In the analysis of Etam's design process reengineering, the topology of value stream is applied in the enterprise's interior division level to sketch the operational process of value stream within the company and analyze the marketing strategy. It is an even more micro perspective.The cases further verify the applicability of the topology of value stream analysis framework:from micro level to middle level, from enterprise's interior to exterior. This is because that the value stream is based on the value movement and the actual marketing activities taking place. All the individuals or organizations (profit or non-profit) that bear the value stream and play different roles together constitute structural relationships of different marketing organization (interior and exterior), and they all can be brought into the topology of value stream framework.The article focuses on the value stream, the topology of value stream analytical framework and its guidance and inspiration for marketing model innovation. The main deficiency is the lack of quantitative index in description and using of value stream, which is also the direction of further research to perfect the framework and replenish the analysis tools.