7. Distribution Channel Decisions/Strategy Flashcards
Marketing channel: 2
- The set of interdependent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service
- Many services are distributed through marketing channels, but it need different activates
Objectives of distribution channels 6
- Increase the availability of the good or service to potential customers
- Satisfy customer requirements by providing high levels of service
- Ensure promotional effort
- Obtain timely and detailed market information
- Increase cost-effectiveness
- Maintain flexibility
Institutions Found in Marketing Channels 4
- Merchant wholesalers
- Agent midllemen
- Retailers
- Facilitating agencies
Merchant wholesalers
Take title to the goods the handle, sell primarily to other resellers, industrial and comercial customers
Agent midllemen 3
- Include manufacturer’s representatuves and brokers.
- Also sell to other resellers, industrial or comercial customers, but do not take title to the goods.
- Usually specialize in the selling function and represent client manufacturers on a comission basis
Retailers 2
- Sell goods and services directly to ultimate customers for personal use.
- Take title to goods they handle, are compensated by the margin between the price they pay for those goods an the price they receive from their customers
Facilitating agencies
Include advertising agencies…etc specialised in one or more marketing functions, work on due for service basis to help clients perform those functions more effectively and efficiently
Channel Design Alternatives
individual consumers or organizational customers
The decision depends on: 3
- Which distribution objectives are considered most important
- which is influenced by the business’s competitive strategy
- Other components of the marketing program, including characteristics of the product
Availability and the Satisfaction of Customer Service Requirements
Achieving a desired level of product availability is largely a matter of gaining the cooperation of appropriate numbers and types of retail outlets
Three basic strategies of retail coverage: 3
- Intensive Distribution
- Exclusive Distribution
- Selective Distribution
Intensive Distribution
A form of distribution aimed at having a product available in every outlet e.g. toothpaste
Exclusive Distribution
one or a few dealers within a given area e.g. prestige clothing
Selective Distribution
A form of distribution achieved by screening dealers to eliminate all but a few in any single area e.g. home appliances
Multichannel Distribution 2
- Dual (two-channel) distribution systems
- Hybrid system
Channel Design for Global Markets
When designing marketing channels to reach customers in more than one country, the manager faces a couple of additional issues:
- When entering a new national market for the first time, he or she must decide on an entry strategy.
Market Entry Strategies 3
Exporting
- Export merchants (buy and sell)
- Export agents (sell on a commission basis)
- Cooperative organisations (export for several producers/farm products)
Contractual entry modes
- Licensing
- Franchising
- Contract manufacturing
Overseas direct investment
- Joint ventures
- Sole ownership
Exporting:
The simplest was to enter a foreign market because it involves the least commitment and risk
Contractual entry modes:
Nonequity arrangements that involve transfer of technology and/or skills to an entity in a foreign country