If there is a conflict between traditional marketing and network marketing, how to solve it?

Customers covered by traditional Internet access channels also have an identity on the Internet. When you try to develop it into a user and a customer resource of the Internet channel, there will be resource competition with the traditional channel, unless the customer base of the network channel and the traditional channel does not overlap.

Strictly speaking, the Internet can neither grow food nor herd cattle and sheep. Even if it is really e-commerce, it is only the information mapping between real logistics and real payment. This understanding of the Internet has led many traditional enterprises to disapprove of online marketing and e-commerce. This kind of disapproval is deep in my heart, regardless of whether it has also built a corporate website and shouted e-commerce and online marketing.

Perhaps, in the rapid development and unpredictability of network technology, people fundamentally ignore that the Internet world is a real world from the beginning. The imaginary extension of network marketing is actually the alienation from the real world. Cyberspace can and does have many unreal things, but it is real like everything else in the world. Many people's life, thinking, production, consumption and entertainment all take place in this space. Network marketing is based on this reality, and evasion and fraud are escapism. Network marketing should have a realistic attitude and practice, especially face up to the differences between network marketing and traditional marketing, and correctly handle the overlap and conflict between the two marketing channels.

Traditional enterprises need comprehensive network transformation.

As we all know, marketing and sales are not the same thing. Network marketing cannot be equated with network sales. If it is a local and overall misunderstanding to equate marketing with sales, and think that we don't need online sales and ignore online marketing, this is the common reason why many traditional enterprises are alienated from online marketing.

The alienation of traditional enterprises from online marketing has a more complicated background. Because marketing runs through every link of enterprise behavior, and sales are not. It is impossible to realize all marketing activities and links through the Internet. Only relying on the internet, marketing is limited, and some things done through the internet are ineffective, even under the current technical conditions. For many enterprises' products and services, it is impossible to sell them only by relying on the Internet. You must have realistic logistics links to support them. However, the sales of products or services of some enterprises can only achieve a complete sales process through the Internet, such as information products, such as e-books, pictures, audio-visual materials, software, and even software application services, games and entertainment.

This has created a reality that some enterprises can basically achieve almost all aspects and levels of marketing on the Internet, especially sales; And some enterprises can only do some links and levels of marketing, and even can't do sales (of course, you may argue that at least they can promote sales). This makes some traditional enterprises think that my products are not suitable for online sales, so I can't engage in online marketing. In fact, because people's survival, life and work have been networked, it will inevitably lead to the networking of your suppliers, users or other relevant stakeholders, so it is necessary to carry out online marketing. But network marketing is not necessarily direct selling, but all marketing behaviors that create and enhance user value and satisfaction through the network.

Conflict between traditional channels and network channels

The first thing that enterprises think of in online marketing is to make full use of the advantages of the network to establish more effective sales channels, because the Internet allows us to cross time and space and realize a 7×24-hour customer interface for all corners of the world, and the effect can almost exceed our imagination.

But the question is, will this completely flat channel have friction and conflict with traditional sales channels? This is inevitable. Because when two channels cover the same customer resources, conflicts will inevitably occur. As a customer covered by traditional channels, they also have an identity on the Internet. When you try to develop it into a user and a customer resource of the Internet channel, it will compete with traditional channels for resources. Unless the customer groups of network channels and traditional channels do not overlap, friction and conflict are inevitable. There are two inevitable reasons for the overlapping of customer groups: first, the network has no natural distinction between traditional customers (whether individual consumers or enterprise or institutional users), and you can't stop them from using the convenience of the network to exist as network citizens; Secondly, marketing value-added (or cost) has always been allocated between manufacturers and customers. For example, users also have the desire to spontaneously share the value-added brought by Internet commerce by pursuing cheaper search information and more pleasant transaction and service experience. The transfer from traditional sales users to online sales users is inevitable.

The solution to the conflict between network channels and traditional channels is actually the same as that of traditional channels. Market segmentation or customer segmentation is the basic method of marketing, and it is also an effective method to solve channel conflicts. If we like, we can increase the dominant tendency of manufacturers, that is, actively divide the market or customer base. In essence, it is to leave some user groups to traditional channels, and the other part to new network channels. On the surface, this practice is dominated by manufacturers, but in fact manufacturers also adjust according to the characteristics of customer needs and changes in the environment, not their wishful thinking.

Solving channel conflict from the original intention of marketing

To solve the conflict between traditional channels and online channels, we must have a clear purpose. The goal of network marketing is to increase the interests of users and manufacturers. In other words, the market or customer group division behavior to solve channel conflicts is to increase the value of manufacturers and customers, not just to protect the original traditional channels.

If it is concluded through investigation and study that for a certain manufacturer or a certain product, the Internet channel can completely replace the traditional channel, then the solution of transforming the whole channel into the network will not be ruled out. In practice, we can take a step-by-step approach to ensure the continuity of business operations. Sometimes, in order to prevent business turbulence, we also adopt a step-by-step channel reform method.

In the process of transformation from traditional channels to Internet channels, market or customer segmentation is an important link to solve contradictions. Generally speaking, markets or customers can be segmented by natural grouping and guided grouping.

Natural clustering refers to the clustering phenomenon that customers naturally present customer groups with the same characteristics in their own life and production process, or in the process of collecting information, comparing decisions, purchasing products and services, consumption and application. For example, population characteristics, geographical division of the formation of groups, such as infant market, elderly market, car owners and so on. Guided grouping refers to the division of customer groups by manufacturers through product or service design, channel design, information communication design and other marketing means for the purpose of marketing on the basis of mastering customer characteristics and needs. In the Internet era, people's survival and lifestyle have undergone profound changes, resulting in many new features, which enable us to divide users and generate new market segments. And each market segment has its own channel structure and form.

Starting from the analysis of customers' needs and behaviors, we can make different channel forms meet one kind of users most effectively, instead of simply considering the problem from the perspective of channels, so that products can meet the needs of customers in market segments to the maximum extent. For example, Rising, a well-known antivirus software manufacturer, has a very successful product form in online sales, which can only be online media. In this channel, you will definitely not take the traditional channel product-set antivirus software.

Network marketing may not need network channels.

Different market segments and customer groups have different degrees of network use and behavior habits. For them, the efficiency of each link of online marketing may vary greatly, and sometimes some links of marketing are not suitable for online. Therefore, the collaborative use of online marketing and traditional marketing methods is not ruled out. This result is the integration of network channels and traditional channels, just like our city railway, there is a section underground, another section on the ground, and even a section to be elevated.

In the conflict between network and traditional channels, we often fall into the strategic dilemma of network marketing, that is, whether network marketing must adopt the mode of network direct sales. In fact, this is not necessarily the case. You don't have to engage in online marketing. The reason is very simple, just like a manufacturer can put advertisements on TV stations to the whole country, but the sales still adopt the hierarchical agency system. Just because I am the upstream of the channel, I must flatten the channel, either cancel the hierarchical channel or trigger a channel scuffle.

This will naturally lead to the conclusion that online marketing may not be accompanied by fully implemented online channels. In extreme cases, we can even build a channel form that combines network form with tradition, which of course depends on factors such as product form, sales process, and user purchase behavior characteristics. From this perspective, the so-called network marketing does not necessarily mean that all aspects of marketing are networked. Similarly, there are products and services that are not suitable for online marketing, but there are no enterprises that are not suitable for online marketing. Because in today's information society, no one can live completely independently of cyberspace, and the online world is virtual but realistic. Ignoring online marketing is ignoring a real world.