品牌廠商在國際市場間的通路組合策略研究 - 以一台灣樂器公司為例

Abstract

台灣因為資源不足與市場不夠龐大，對國際貿易的發展經濟方式依賴極大，在以往二三十年前藉由台灣優良的工業技術與相對的成本優勢發展出眾多的以出口為主的企業，但因為在近二十年來在大陸市場與勞工成本更有優勢下有許多台灣企業紛紛在大陸設廠以求取更高的經營利潤。所以這樣的經營模式迫使企業須不斷逐水草而居，持續不斷地每幾年就須考慮遷廠移動到更便宜的生產地區或國家，又或是藉由投資工廠自動化的方式以減少對直接人力的需求，但此類型的經營策略均是在OEM經營模式下的宿命。 逐漸地有許多廠商近一二十年來紛紛開始試著投入自有品牌OBM的行銷經營，無不希望不論在自己的台灣工廠或是企業本身在大陸所投資的工廠製造銷售到國外(主要是西方社會歐美市場)的產品有一響亮且有高辨識度的品牌，以求能有機會讓消費者願意直接購買自家品牌產品以提高利潤。然而品牌的經營卻並非一蹴可幾的，這期間的過程是除了產品的設計與定價須直接了解國外市場才能設計合適產品與價格定位，同時如何針對不同文化的西方國家消費者進行到位的促銷活動也是有挑戰的，更進一步地如何運用在當地的通路網路來販售企業自己的產品則是最大的學問所在。 有鑑於此，本研究主要針對一個傳統且早已高度全球競爭的成熟樂器產業裡，並且是在已有對眾多悠久家族傳承的高級品牌競爭環境中，由一個來自亞洲台灣的樂器製造公司如何從對此產業的外部五力分析與企業內部的優劣勢整合SWOT分析中找出合適的機會點並進一步藉由策略定位與運用差異化方式以求塑造出一個優秀品牌的過程，並求能在西方社會的樂器市場中將一亞洲品牌有效立足。接著進一步針對品牌行銷四P策略中的通路策略在此產業的今日環境下進行深入分析，以得出自身品牌在不同市場因為發展成果與程度不同而需有不同的通路運用策略如下。

1. 若在當地已成為主流或強勢品牌:可藉全面經營各種零售店(包括網路店與連鎖店)，求市占率與營業額利潤的極大化。企業主要可以藉由激勵政策與懲罰制度來管理可能衝突，並運用產品生命週期調整在各零售店的新舊品配置。 2. 若品牌屬新興或位於二線品牌:則須藉由專門店輔以一般店配合連鎖店為主要通路，先求提升市占率與品牌售後服務水準來經營品牌；並適合在一般店與專門店進行各種長短期的有效激勵手法，一則建立品牌一則讓利給零售商以換取其協助品牌的建立，如人員訓練與長期合作等。並且主要藉產品與服務的開發以及增加零售點為主要成長策略。 本研究也根據上述結論，提出建議試圖經營自有品牌在國際市場上的企業可以考慮運用的此種差異化的通路經營方式，以便能使企業的品牌經營之路較為順利，並減少許多學習成本與資源錯置的浪費；同時因為網路銷售的持續發展，未來的持續研究可以針對其他電子商務的成長與各國消費者網路消費模式進一步發展更符合趨勢的通路策略著手。

For over two decades, Taiwanese manufacturers have established themselves in the global market primarily through trading, due to the scarcity of native resources and relatively small inland market size. Advances in manufacturing technology and competitive cost advantage have contributed to the growth of many industries in the past twenty years; however, Taiwanese companies began investing in mainland China in search of higher profits, due to low local labor costs. This trend illustrates the inevitability of the OEM business model: companies are forced to move production time and time again, endlessly seeking the most cost-effective countries (i.e. those with the lowest labor costs). Consequently, some of these Taiwanese companies have started to develop their own brands, in order to reap higher profits than that of OEM products by inciting consumers throughout international markets to purchase branded products. However, brand management on a global sale can only be implemented on an extended time scale, requiring applicable pricing and precise design of product specifications. Furthermore, developing localized and functional promotional campaigns presents a challenge to Taiwanese companies, as does developing appropriate channels for reaching the target demographic in foreign markets. A study of these challenges is indispensable for navigating through the highly competitive nature of the musical instrument industry: thus, the subject of this thesis is the study and analysis of how a Taiwanese musical instrument manufacturing company can develop a workable strategy by using Porter's strategy analysis and the SWOT analysis. Additionally, the 4-P marketing mix - product, price, promotion, and place - are all observed to be essential elements of good planning, building towards the successful construction of a globally recognized brand. (The overwhelming importance of place strategy, also known as channel strategy, is especially apparent in contemporary business environments.) This case study resulted in the following conclusions: 1. If the brand is considered a major or well-recognized brand, the company is able to sell its products through all types of retailers, including web-sellers and chain-stores, quickly optimizing market share and sales turnover. The company can manage potential conflict with incentive-based programs or penalty policies, using its advantage to sell its products in different retailers while taking into account the stages reached in various product life-cycles. 2. If the brand is still considered young or second-tier, the most effective use of professional retailers and general musical instrument stores is as the primary channel helping the brand in its first stage of development to solidify its position at the professional level. It will be necessary to concede a greater profit margin to these retail operations in order to enable them to promote the brand to the consumer level, in conjunction with sales training and other approaches to long-term cooperation. Subsequently, continuous product development and the increase of retailer network will constitute the main growth strategy for the young brand. Based on the above conclusions, it is suggested that companies in the process of developing their own brand differentiate their channel strategies to avoid wasting time and resources. Meanwhile, the progression of the e-commerce business model is to be further studied regarding its effects on the consumer's purchase behavior in each country, thus informing the company's adaptation of the proper channel strategies to the needs of each individual market.