CHALLENGE:
Downstream salespeople are often part of an independent distributor network and may feel connected to the brands they sell. Does it matter? Are salespeople simply rational agents of the vendor? Not quite. Salespeople who identify with the brands they sell expend more effort to sell those brands.
HOW THEY RESEARCHED IT:
The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between a salesperson’s distributor and brand identifications, as well as the impact of both in accordance with control systems on sales effort and performance. The authors define distributor identification as the degree to which a person identifies with his or her employer. Brand identification is the degree to which a person defines himself by the same attributes that he or she believes defines a brand. Control system alignment is the extent to which channel member control systems align with supplier sales goals.
A multilevel analysis was performed on data gained from 18 CPG distributors throughout the country. Surveys were administered to 260 salespeople, 59 route supervisors, and 18 sales managers while objective sales performance data were obtained from company records. Sales managers supplied control system alignment measures, route supervisors rated salesperson brand effort, and salespeople supplied all other necessary information. The combined data set resulted in 192 full data records and 743 usable brand observations. Brand effort, brand extra-role behavior, distributor identification and brand identification were measured.
WHAT HAPPENED?
There is a strong positive relationship between control system and brand performance, as well as between brand identification and brand performance. Regardless of whether or not distributor control systems support a given brand, if a salesperson identifies with said brand he or she will exert more effort when selling it. A salesperson will also exert more effort selling a brand supported by control systems from a distributor which he or she identifies with. Overall sales performance improves from strong brand performance only when control system alignment is high.
Brand identification was positively related to brand extra-role behaviors, meaning a salesperson that identifies with a given brand is more likely to use it both in his or her personal life as well as promote it to others outside of the work place. No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between extra-role brand support and brand performance. Researchers suggest this may be due in part because extra-role brand behavior is less likely to impact sales in the relevant period.
Distributor identification was shown to strengthen a salesperson’s adherence to control systems, which can work for or against a given brand. A salesperson’s performance on a specific brand improves overall sales performance only when that brand is supported by distributor control systems. In other words, strong brand performance improves total sales performance only when salesperson and distributor emphasize the same brand.
The separate interests of suppliers and distributors are illustrated through the sometimes conflicting identifications of salespeople with either a brand or an organization.
WHY MANAGERS SHOULD CARE:
A primary function of brand managers is to ensure maximum allocation of resources towards their brand relative to others; however the challenge is competing with the multitudes of other brands resellers work with. In the past, managers have held substantial influence with resellers only when supplier and distributor control systems align.
The research presented here suggests a new way for managers to improve brand sales performance – by reaching out directly to salespeople. The importance of channel member control systems is by no means lost, however most managers realize the impossibility of convincing every reseller in every channel to prioritize their brand. Salesperson brand identification creates a new avenue for managers to influence brand sales in channels where their brand does not play a significant role in the reseller’s overall strategy.
Managers are encouraged to present brand marketing efforts towards resellers, and more specifically salespeople, in the same manner as they are presented to the end consumer. Results have shown that salespeople who identify with a given brand will exert more effort towards selling it, whether or not the reseller supports the same brand. Managers should approach resellers as consumers instead using the traditional middleman approach, in an effort to gain strong brand identification from all aspects of the sales channel.
The end goal of resellers is to encourage distributor identification from salespeople, while manufacturers are working towards brand identification in those same people. Both sides should be wary of how much the salesperson identifies with the other entity, especially when control systems between manufacturers and resellers do not align.
CAN YOU HELP?
Can you relate an experience where sales of your brand were higher or lower than expected due to mitigating factors of reseller brand identification?
Do you have systems in place to encourage salesperson brand identification as well reseller loyalty?
Source: Douglas E. Hughes and Micahael Ahearne (2011), “Energizing the Reseller’s Sale Force: The Power of Brand Identification,” Journal of Marketing, Vol 74 (July), 81-96.
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