Lighting Marketing: Branding Agency is Still Mainstream

It is understood that the current lighting industry mainly follows the four major channel models: brand agency model, direct model, engineering model and network marketing model. Different types of products are operated, and in different stages of development, the channels used by the company are not the same.

Brand agency model: still the mainstream

Needless to say, even in today's "winning channel, terminal is king", the brand agency model is still the most common and common channel mode in the lighting industry. The so-called brand agency means that the manufacturers' goods are passed through multi-level agents and sold to the final consumers after several changes. The ownership of the goods still belongs to the manufacturers. In the agency business, the agents represent the manufacturers to solicit customers, solicit orders, sign contracts, and earn profit margins from buying low and selling high.

Before the brand agency model emerged, the lighting industry was in a state of bulk operation. Between manufacturers and businesses is only a simple trading relationship, basically no after-sales service. Due to the high cost of repurchasing goods from local manufacturers to manufacturers, wholesalers will try to fix as few manufacturers as possible. At the same time, with the development of the industry and intensified competition, manufacturers began to select high-quality businesses, managed to stabilize high-quality businesses, and promote the frequency and quantity of merchants' purchases. As a result, the production of multi-item items, conditional credits, sales back-change rates, etc. began. As a result, the relationship between wholesalers and manufacturers at this time is relatively stable. Although it is only a trading relationship, cooperation has certain continuity and mutual cooperation.

Lighting marketing continues to use the four major channel model brand agents into the mainstream

Then, with the further development of the lighting industry, on the one hand, the manufacturers' product categories and styles are gradually enriched, and almost exclusive can meet the needs of wholesalers; on the other hand, the agents also require regional protection. Thus, the lighting industry's brand agency model came into being. Brand agency model has a unified image and a certain brand appeal, businesses do not have to bother to find the source. Manufacturers provide businesses with certain training and business support, but manufacturers also have a set of strict system requirements, such as image display, distribution, settlement and so on.

After entering the year 2000, the brand store model gradually emerged. Stores have a good brand image display, product categories and styles are more, the price is relatively stable, is conducive to manufacturers of brand building and timely access to terminal sales information. These unique advantages allow lighting manufacturers to strengthen their store construction. However, at present, due to many manufacturers' misunderstanding of the real brand exclusive model, thin product lines, lack of professional marketing and service teams and other reasons, the lighting company's store model still has weak profitability. Such phenomena, store model in the lighting industry performance is tepid.

Direct operating model: emerging

In 2008, Lilang Lighting set up its first direct sales store in Shanghai Xinliuying Lighting Plaza. When the company develops to a certain stage, the branding transformation becomes the inevitable demand of the company. However, in the process of cooperation with distributors, more or less will cause some friction in cooperation. Sometimes because of different concepts and different interests, it will also cause some obstacles to mutual development. Manufacturers can set up directly operated stores to get rid of dealers' control and reduce the loss of intermediate profits.

First of all, competition has increased the terminal operating costs, direct marketing channels can reduce the cost of circulation to ensure the terminal's cost advantage; Secondly, the direct marketing channel can refine the successful profit model to the national copy promotion; again, direct channels get rid of the intermediate channels The barriers, brand managers can control their own terminal, more flexible and flexible autonomy, so that terminal operations become more refined, market operations more planning, planning and systematic; Finally, direct marketing channels are more conducive to brand management and maintenance , is conducive to the long-term development of the brand.

However, the direct store's capital requirements and management requirements for the manufacturers have been greatly increased. It requires the entire background support, team building, safety inventory, sales monitoring, and management of downstream distributors to establish a complete system. . Among them, remote management is the biggest problem facing directly-operated stores. In the case of “Tian Gao Emperor Yuan”, it is difficult for enterprises to integrate well the problems of people, finances, and goods in directly operated stores, and management is difficult. At the same time, there are too many investments in the early stages of opening a direct-store business, and the cost is high. Although the profit of the agents can be obtained, the relative return rate is reduced under the premise of large-cost investment. In contrast, the agency model is more effortless.

At present, the management level of lighting companies is relatively backward, and the establishment of directly-operated stores across the country faces enormous challenges. The direct operating model has both advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the direct operating model is not yet popular in the lighting industry.

Engineering Mode: Focus on Objects

In the lighting industry, in addition to ordinary household consumption, hotels, villas, clubs, business offices and other places often need crystal lamps, European lamps and other products to decorate, in order to improve the quality of decoration, and the market demand in this area is not small. Compared with the civilian consumption, these projects show a relatively large amount of orders, a long delivery period, and high requirements for after-sales services, resulting in a corresponding lighting engineering sales model.

The engineering channels focus on large-scale projects, and the general availability of lighting products is relatively poor. In addition to its use with light sources, electrical appliances, etc., the requirements for the system are also relatively high. At the same time, projects often require companies with strong public relations capabilities and a wealth of engineering channel resources. In the sales process, companies need to invest a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources to keep track of, "only first, there is no second" marketing phrase It also illustrates the cruelty of the engineering sales model competition.

As the engineering model has the characteristics of “not opening for three years and eating for three years”, increasing the success rate of engineering projects has become a crucial issue for companies in the sales process, which requires companies to improve their comprehensive capabilities. In general, current lighting companies mainly improve their work from the following five aspects.

1. Improve the quality of the sales team and recruit high-quality talents to enhance the brand image of the company in the market.

2. Strengthen engineering design services to provide customers with total solutions. A good engineering solution not only brings benefits to customers, but at the same time, the strong demonstration effect of engineering projects will help companies establish a good image.

3. Strengthen after-sales service, such as installation, free cleaning, regular maintenance and so on.

4. Organize product promotion meetings in a planned manner and invite local city officials, designers, design agencies, etc. to participate.

5. Strengthen advertising and increase brand awareness.

Internet Marketing Model: Unprecedented

Today, network selling lights is no longer a fresh word. After entering the 21st century, with the rapid development of science and technology, the Internet has become more and more popular. With the post-80's and post-90's gradually becoming the main consumers, the network selling lights has also emerged.

For manufacturers, the introduction of e-commerce will change the zero-level channels from reality to reality. The products will directly face consumers through the Internet, and compress the middle and secondary wholesalers in the middle. The manufacturers will have direct control over the terminals. For consumers, the City of Lights is too big and it's too tired to stroll around, and online shopping is just a mouse click away. Online shopping lights have the advantages of convenience, price transparency, etc., and are quietly changing the consumer's shopping habits. At present, some home building materials brands have also launched their own online shopping platforms. Consumers can log on to these network platforms with a click of the mouse, and can complete a series of operations such as placing orders and making deposits.

However, due to credit, logistics and after-sales service and other reasons, at present, the most widely used online shopping lights are those lamps that are not worth much and are easy to transport, such as desk lamps, wall lamps, energy-saving lamps, switch sockets, and ceiling lamps. For crystal lamps, European-style lamps and other products, because these lighting products are relatively high prices, and the transport is more troublesome, while the installation of lamps and other services to guide long-distance more difficult, so, at present, consumers purchase these lighting products directly through the network It's less. However, with the continuous improvement of China's credit system and continuous improvement of logistics and transportation services, online shopping lighting products will certainly become a trend in the future.

Diversification into inevitable

Industry development and increased competition complement each other. At present, the intensified competition in the lighting industry has prompted the development of marketing channels in a diversified direction, which will certainly affect the future pattern of the lighting industry.

First, the process of flattening channels has accelerated. The flattening of channels will help maximize the profits of manufacturers and strengthen the control of the terminal market. In the future, the direct-operated regions, single-store franchise, and direct-operating terminal chains will gradually be adopted by powerful lighting brand manufacturers.

Secondly, channel diversification will promote more diversification of competition, and the intensity and means of competition will be higher. This will also promote the polarization of the market pattern. The stronger the stronger, the weaker the weaker.