Typical mode of marketing channel of internet products

In the network environment, the enterprise market range by the Internet, logistics network, settlement network of the three network of "field" extension of the impact. But to the Internet product (service) market scope, the Internet, the settlement net decisive role is more obvious, therefore the Internet product Channel innovation is based on these two network's present situation and the function.

The most common way to describe the channel pattern is direct marketing and distribution. After the emergence of E-commerce, it was widely believed that distribution will gradually disappear, direct selling will become the mainstream of the channel model, but it is not so, even the logistics unrelated to the Internet product (service) channel model can not cancel the distribution system, and in the market expansion, the distribution model is sometimes more obvious than the direct sales model.

Internet products in this article refers to the products and services that can be transmitted, disseminated or distributed through the Internet, including: Domain name, virtual machine, construction station, post Office and other basic services, search, software application platform and other value-added services, as well as through the Internet to provide "member-type" products and services. The channel model of these services is used as an example to describe and analyze the typical channel patterns.

1 Direct Selling mode

Internet products and services with the rise of the Internet, with the continuous expansion of network applications, the level of e-commerce has been increasing the emergence of a series of internet-based "pure" digital products and services. They together to the user's "main business" played a basic support and guarantee role.

The form, composition, purchase process, payment, product setup, after-sale service and consumption can be completely based on the Internet, so the direct marketing model is the general and universal choice of these products and services.

From the direct marketing model of Internet services, direct marketing is not limited to the "Sales-purchase" link, but more attention to direct service, and the concept of service by means of Internet, showing the following characteristics:

1.1 Response to demand faster, more customer-level

After the user pays the payment, the service is not delivered at once and requires a continuous service to complete. In the ongoing service process, users will maintain and adjust the content of the product or service as needed, which still needs to match the content of the service to the user's needs. If a user purchased a one-year domain name service, after payment, the need for system preparation to make the domain name effective, and in effect after the use of the process, users may need to "domain name forwarding" function (that is, multiple domain names point to a website), may also change the site's IP address, Renewals may be deferred after the end of the service period. These services are initially implemented through the operation of enterprises, and now the adjustment function is completely to the user himself, users can according to their own needs for direct service adjustment, user needs have been timely satisfaction.

1.2 Help users save money and improve investment income

In the traditional sense, the business is to induce consumers to "spend money", the amount of consumption the more the better. And with the emergence of service concept, to help users "spend good money" is the business pursuit of one of the goals. The sales platform of Internet service has basically been able to provide financial budget, consumption statistics, expense income report and other functions. For example, after registering an account with Google, that is, to do the keyword "search promotion" to do the basic advertising budget, in the process of enjoying the service, but also in accordance with the actual situation to control the advertising costs; in the Baidu bid also provides by region, by time to promote the function of keyword, and at any time to query the effect of promotion.

1.3 Use of service software to make customer service more perfect

Now can be used platform customer service software is not limited to solve the problem of after-sales service, but through the user and operator sales, service personnel direct dialogue, to achieve pre-sales real-time "shopping Guide", the sale of real-time solutions to product management and service settings and other issues. In addition, users can browse records, pay attention to problems, service time, etc. for analysis, to improve the layout of the platform display, the service personnel evaluation. At present, the larger service providers in the online real-time service, promote sales, improve the level of service is in the discussion stage, I believe that soon, the vast number of users can feel these colorful services.

In short, in the direct marketing model, is experiencing a sales-led to the service-led evolution of the excessive. The Internet to provide services to the space is unlimited, innovation will always produce!

Distribution is one of the common models used by enterprises in domestic Internet service field, and the success of distribution channel proves that its advantages in market expansion and channel efficiency are incomparable with direct selling. With the development of the industry, the distribution model has undergone the following stages under the guidance of market competition-driven innovation results:

2.1 Traditional "Purchase and sale chain" mode

In the traditional "purchase and sale chain" mode, distribution channels have their own E-commerce platform, independent, without any relationship. The purchase process is the process of transaction transfer between the top and bottom trips. But this stage is only the imitation of traditional transaction forms, is the process of automation and networking. In the initial stage, this model has played a role in improving transaction efficiency and reducing transaction costs, but the problem is becoming more and more obvious with the increasing demands of users. For example, users of rapid service response requirements are often not met, upstream service policy or content adjustment downstream links difficult to timely response to cause business pauses, suspension, so that users are affected.

2.2 "Retail support" mode

"Retail support" mode is based on the "Purchase and sale chain" mode, in order to eliminate its defects, the service operator advocates the improvement mode of the distribution channel business process, in order to improve the service efficiency and satisfy the user's demand. The basic model of this pattern is shown below:

The retail support model has two key features: first, agents in their own E-commerce platform to display products that service operators to provide products, service operators to make adjustments to products and services, agents only need to do a simple update, without a large number of changes in the sales platform of the service process, that is, the adjustment of products and services is similar to synchronization. Another is, the user in the agent sales platform purchase, the order directly submitted to the operator's sales platform, do not need agents to do the purchase operation, and the user Service demand by the operator direct response.

Channel tool VPP (Virtual Platform Provider) and API (creator programming interfaces application interface) are widely used in the Internet service domain. In some cases, VPP can support the operator's direct response to the user's demand, but it does not guarantee the real-time response, and will gradually exit from the current usage situation. The API is very real-time and is widely used in the industry.

Although the "retail support" model has the above advantages, but does not consider the technical strength of agents, as well as the limitations of small and medium-sized agents in e-commerce applications, such as the use of APIs require agents have strong technical force and staffing, which is undoubtedly an insurmountable gap for small and medium agents. In addition, this model generally does not support the multi-level proxy system, only supports the first level agency system, limits the operator distribution system expansion.

2.3 "Agent Support" mode

"Agent Support" mode is the service operator to support the business operation of agents, establish their own brand image, and set technology for competitors and "user use habits barrier" and formed a distribution channel innovation model. The model is as follows:

In this mode, operators in their own E-commerce platform for the first class agent opened "a generation of account", the opening of the account, so that a level of agents to obtain support services, including the level two agent management functions, user management functions, and operators of the billing function, sales statistics function, service effect report. Agents through the two level agent management function, can be two agents open "second generation account", the second generation of account number two agents to obtain support work and a generation of similar accounts, and still can be opened for lower agents account. And so on, lower agents for the next level of agents to open the management account, until the terminal agents. Finally, the terminal agent through the operator platform "terminal Agent account" for users to open "User Service Account", this account does not open the account again function, but has a direct product or service consumption settings function, but also includes its own financial management, consumption statistics, service effect reports and other functions.

And the logical order of purchase, the user through the terminal Agent sales platform for purchase, and terminal agents to separate settlement, terminal agents through the superior sales platform up to the level of agent purchase, separate settlement, and so on, the first-level agent to the operator to buy and separate settlement. Users receive services directly from the carrier platform's user Service account.

The usual practice is to lower agents to their own level of agents to pay advance or to obtain credit lines, to obtain a superior agent for its operators on the platform opened the account, when their own purchase of the downstream, only to open the account number in the downstream opening account and the allocation of consumption can be.

Therefore, for the agents, the service and purchase process is to open the account and the allocation of consumption, the end user to obtain account number, the operation of various functions, access to the actual carrier products and services.

From the agent support mode, we can see that the carrier e-commerce platform can support n-level agents. In this system, it can be imagined that thousands of different levels of agents working together on one platform to provide services to end users, its service efficiency and quality of service is unmatched by the first two models. In this mode, in addition to the previous level of account with all the functions of the lower account, but also the function of the subordinate account to inquire, supervision, as well as the financial revenue and expenditure, sales statistics and so do basic data analysis. In addition, this pattern can still be in real time for end-user service responsiveness by separating the purchase process from the service process and at different times on different platforms.

The advantages of the "proxy support" model, though obvious, are gradually exposed as a test of practice. For example, downstream agents to promote their own brand image rather than "subordinate account" to the downstream link to provide, it is not possible to enable users to directly operate the platform function, access to fast service, so this model will lose meaning.

2. 4 "Alliance" access mode

"Alliance" access mode is a new type of agent distribution model, which is accompanied by the development of "effect marketing". It is different from the above three distribution modes (operating enterprise control channel chain), is the use of Third-party Web site Alliance platform to seek channel access to the scale, effectiveness, in addition to the pursuit of effects can be limited to the sales effect (CPS), but also include membership registration, software download (CPA) and other effects. The basic model is as follows:

The Alliance model has been in the domestic development for about 6 years, since 2004, many internet companies choose its products and services to promote the market access. After years of development, today is becoming one of the mainstream channel models of Internet enterprises. Whether it's a portal or a famous search engine, whether it's an old-style business or a powerhouse, it's getting a lot of access to the alliance. Even the non-Internet international brands, such as Lenovo, DELL and DHC, have also benefited from their huge coalition budget investments.

However, whether it is a business process, or technical means, the alliance model in the effectiveness of marketing services to explore the need to constantly try and innovate in order to be the role of the Alliance access to better serve the Internet products, and to a broader enterprise market. At present, the industry-leading typical platform such as billion hair (www.eqifa.com), easy to Buy (www.egou.com), billion (www.yigao.com), etc. are working for this goal.

The above introduces the typical marketing channel model of Internet products, they are formed under different environment, have their own advantages and disadvantages, their own reasons and applicable objects. Based on the experience of these models, the development trend of marketing channel pattern in Internet service area has shown the following characteristics:

3.1 From the attention to the single channel link support to the entire channel chain support

In the area of Internet services, enterprises in the channel chain on the location is not the same, the same enterprise for different product channel policy differences will be very large, in the establishment of channel mode when the enterprise generally only from their own, the development of channel tools according to which channel links and their relationship is more closely related to which link focus. This formation of marketing channels is bound to lack of adaptability to the competitive environment, easy to make the development of channel Chain Limited. At present, operators in this aspect of the confusion has been revealed, such as the original "retail support" model of the establishment of E-commerce platform can not meet the requirements of long chain channels, business development greatly discounted. As a result, some of the larger operators have begun to plan to develop an e-commerce platform that supports the entire channel chain, with the intention of improving the overall efficiency of the channel and fully preparing for its own product and channel policy adjustments.

3.2 From focus on order Processing function to focus on integrated service function

If the focus of the enterprise is always on how to respond to the user's order quickly, it may fall into the dilemma of "Order on orders" and cannot find the fundamental solution to improve the efficiency of order processing. In order to fundamentally improve the processing speed of orders, we should consider the enterprise itself, agents and the role of the division between users, channel tool users of functional diversification needs, focus on the provision of integrated services. Only rely on the comprehensive service function, the rapid processing of orders, the rapid delivery of quality services to be assured.

3.3 from focus on business process integration to focus on channel resource integration

The business integration of channel chain makes the service speed and quality greatly improved, but it doesn't make the whole advantage of Internet service channel fully play. The whole channel chain enterprises have their own customer resources, technical force, staffing, brand image and other resources, how to effectively integrate these resources, play the overall resource advantages, are the major issues faced by the operating enterprises.

In short, the industry in advance, the pattern in development. The open characteristics of Internet and the evolution of electronic commerce technology and mode will promote the digital product marketing channel which is represented by Internet service to revise, perfect and innovate!