Q more than 300 enterprises in the country to municipal agents. Every year dozens of channels of development management system, its core is the channel incentives, have a decisive impact on sales.
Director of Marketing Centre Z took office, the proposed "special support policy-based incentives" - the distinction agents across the country, according to market potential, competition, advertising and sales promotion agency input, giving the area the costs of varying amounts support from several thousand to more than hundreds of thousands.
Since different local conditions, agents have to the companies and their determination in early, mention of the planning. Regions can not be accurately forecast the case of annual sales, Z Director of the decision can only be subjective feeling of how much the company invested money in various regions.
"The birds will have food to eat is called" This aroused strong dissatisfaction channel agents. Did not get the support of regional constantly complain, get too little support for the region's not enough support. The company invested nearly unprecedented million cost, in return for a large area of slack agents, disgruntled.
This year, business sales in the history of a Q "Waterloo", task frustration, excessive costs, sales was then.
Secondly, the order to reverse this situation, the marketing center learn the lessons of failure to launch a "rebate-based incentive policy" - the company no longer support the district expenses in advance, all the actual performance of a full year to speak at different volume levels to Different rebate incentives.
However, the policy of any errors so stereotyped rigid, not considered part of the special market situation, caused sales of the top 20 major agents of collective protest.
In their view, "no input no output", the competitive strength of regional agents alone is not enough! The market cost of all advertising sales advanced by the agents, the company waited beneficiary of the end, is a irresponsible attitude.
Negative direct impact on large agents to the confidence of small and medium agency. Q business sales overall fell again.
Channel incentives is the focus of all the problems, the two policies for agents is go an 'suck.
Enterprises do not spend less money, but intensified the contradictions, what what to do?
Process-oriented policy with caution
Q Company first introduced the "special support policy" is actually a "process-oriented" policy, this policy should be used with caution in Marketing Management.
Process-oriented and results-oriented biggest difference is the different evaluation criteria.
Q-enterprises, limited marketing costs should be put into where?
Evaluation criteria can not rely on Paixiong Fu, shouting slogans of formalism, as a result, those who described a "blueprint" of the region get the company's support, the quiet, steadfast work hard in the area will be cold.
This fee will encourage more and more support-oriented channel network "sitting pontificating", and because considerations too, too much randomness in the lower levels can not assist in the management, it is easy to set in the director a contradiction, making management efforts languish, Press the gourd floating scoop.
"Without a good process is not a good result", which is that many managers use process-oriented assessment of a root cause.
They stubbornly believe that as long as the process of all the key points into account, the ideal result will appear.
But the process-oriented there are the following:
1. Index to formulate generalized.
Not all of the key process indicators can be found, do not engage in marketing, production, the latter must be standardized, while the former is extremely innovative. Headquarters provides process indicators, mostly conventional way, while the innovative and sometimes play better, but missed with the award.
2. Index Checking the wrong direction.
As the manager's own lack of information and capacity, the actual situation of each region can not fully grasp the process of them not all indicators of growth in prescription and sometimes misleading agents. For example, input-output ratio in the advertising is declining, the region still required a lot of advertising.
3. Quantified constraints is too large.
Process indicators and the more force will result in average, grip the principal contradiction. Many rigid process indicators, such as the number of times throughout the year to do promotions, into how many stores will be first-line agents hands and feet bound, forced to abandon its more suitable for growth in this region, resulting in scattered main attack force.
This use of integrated management "eliminate" self-management approach, the overall efficiency of the enterprise can not be optimal. Many people are just in the process, issues of concern to the manager to make a frill, is difficult to guarantee the actual results.
To achieve greater market efficiency, we must give full play to be manager's initiative!
To promote self-management channel, results-oriented is essential, it will adjust the assessment for each area were chosen to optimize.
The reason why China's reform and opening up has made great achievements, and become process-oriented to results-oriented management thinking are inseparable, and that "Black Cat White Cat" theory is one of the typical, influenced a whole generation; if the initial reform, continue to adopt the plan Economic micromanager ways, not all local governments to GDP growth on the merits and demerits of the evaluation form, I believe that our economy will not be such a big development today.
Management has never been the highest decision-makers an individual matter, it needs all the wisdom and the most extensive participation.
First establish the rules, then break the rules
Q enterprise marketing failure the previous year, mainly due to incentives in the guide channel problem, then later adopted results-oriented policy, why the effect is not ideal?
This is because the absolute orientation of the company in turn the result. This "across the board" like approach, failed to adapt to drastic changes in the market situation.
Are entrepreneurs that managers have two main work, a rule is established, and second, breaking the rules.
The so-called legislative rules, it is to a large number of personalized, integrated management of complex extracted solution can be replicated, it would greatly improve management efficiency.
Not subject to deliberations, although probably not everything perfect, but the manager never actually get the best results can only be obtained under the condition of existing resources, in the most satisfactory results. Therefore, the issue of giving up individual pursuit on the 100% efficiency, in exchange for the global issue of improving the overall efficiency, this account is still quite cost-effective.
Know how to "establish rules", due to the manager orders clear, this management can be copied, managers can share the director in accordance with this model the majority of management responsibilities, thus improving the overall efficiency of the market management team.
But will not "break the rules" people can not be called a good manager. Want a way to solve all problems, is clearly too idealized.
Q Marketing was facing the most critical problem is that traditional strengths in more than 20 markets such as Qingdao, Shijiazhuang, Suzhou, and a strong attack by competitors, if they lose the models to the market, Q will not only lose significant business volume, but would lose the channels morale.
This is sure to "break the rules" because the rules are for "big probability event" to set, often can not meet those "outliers" needs.
Pratt & Whitney on the major markets only give support to, is to give up strategic military, so that the agent fend for themselves, their stood aside, is a dereliction of duty, so no wonder agents are made to unite against the company .
Overall, the process-oriented "indiscriminate" way too messy channel management, lack of information, experience is not enough, so eyes closed knife knife down, fertilizer have thin, it was Cheng Si, some people are malnourished passed, the market does not strange disorder; across the board, after a suitable even for most people, but the taller half of the skull was cut off, ignoring the principal contradiction in the market, management efficiency is also greatly reduced.
Grasp the relationship between the two oriented
28 rules to solve management problems such markets the best way.
80% of the issue through the "Legislative rule" to form a unified regulations to focus on, which can be embodied by Pratt & Whitney to support the policy.
By 20% of the problem will have to "break the rules" on everything, this is a special support policy areas.
Pratt & Whitney to support policy and special support policies are essential, the former mostly results-oriented, while the latter emphasis on the process. Such contradictions have energy to deal with, have a flexible and adhering to the principles.
It is noteworthy that the process of enterprise channel management policy-oriented and results-oriented indicators of what proportion of each well is an important issue, which should be in accordance with internal and external environment and business-to-market grasp capability.
Simply speaking, is the headquarters would like to clear, sure thing, you can use process indicators to assessment, standard channels are uniform throughout the play, to avoid detours to explore individual areas again. It should play when the wisdom of corporate headquarters.
The headquarters did not think clearly, it is not a sure thing, you can use the results-oriented indicators to assessment, to encourage channels to meet the regional characteristics of the innovative use of play to avoid rash decision-making so that everyone detours. At this time the individual should be respected intellectual.
Information about comprehensive line of experienced, competitive environment, changing business, may be appropriate to increase the proportion of process-oriented indicators, such as multi-agent running promotions to increase incentives, may not be linked with the short-term sales. However, this assessment must not be excessive, so as not to undermine a results-oriented incentives as the main form.
Can choose to "a few knife" model, the market is divided into several categories, each category of adopting a strategy, this is the most common and most effective way.
For example:
Taurus-type market, can bring a lot of cash flow areas;
Star-type market, have more room for growth areas;
Children market, in need to solve the bottleneck problem;
Thin dog market, in areas where there is no input value.
In policy formulation, the outcome indicators and process indicators can vary the ratio.
Marketing Management in the "law of two-variable function"
In the real things, we found that most problems are two-variable function, such as "learn how to get good results?" First, we must work, the second is to have the right approach.
Method does not work too much and the results will not be good;
Methods would not only work hard, results also do not increase.
Main contradiction is that these two, the decision if it was intended to find out a lot of factors will be guilty of "agnosticism" of the problems, everything about what they are unrelated, but could not find a specific reason.
If only to find a reason for this? Then we will commit, "paranoid" of problems, light up and down that one factor in the article, the best results from the more to end farther.
Two-variable function is most common in marketing management, an issue to seize the two most important contradictions enough, these two factors condition each other, to promote the same time, growth, success and failure.
Results-oriented, process-oriented secondary, so that policy formulation will be able to seize the two principal contradiction, this is the existence of a number of marketing issues, "two-variable function of the law."
Remember today:
Results-oriented or process-oriented? In modern management, it has should not be a problem. For such two-variable function, the best answer is probably "both taken into account, to distinguish focus."
Most companies use a single indicator for results management, will inevitably pose many problems. In this stage of development, the gradual, modest import process management, management level is a major upgrade. The author believes that the premise should not be a "shock therapy" to change the main role of results-oriented.