marketing management 1 st of june 2011. marketing channels
TRANSCRIPT
Channel Design Decisions
• Where do we sell our goods and to whom?• Which intermediaries do we use, and are they going to
agree to handle our goods?• Do we sell direct or do we use resellers?• Do we have distributors?• What other channel systems do we use?• Marketing channel systems have to continuously evolve
to meet market opportunities and prevalent conditions.• Marketing Channel Design: designing effective
marketing channels by analysing consumer needs, setting channel objectives, identifying major channel alternatives, and evaluating them.
Channel Design Decisions
Analysing Consumer Needs• Marketing channels are part of the customer-value
delivery network– All channel members add value for the customer
• Designing a marketing channel starts with knowing what consumers want from the channel
• What do they want to buy, where from, and how?• The swifter the delivery, the greater the assortment, and
more add-ons, the greater the channel’s service levels• Providing higher service levels may result in higher costs
for the channel and higher customer prices• The company needs to balance consumer needs against
feasibility, costs as well as consumer price preference
Channel Design Decisions
Setting Channel Objectives• A company needs to identify which segments to serve
and channels to use• The idea to minimise channel costs of meeting customer
service requirements• Company Channel Objective Influences:
– Nature of the company– Company Products and Services– Marketing Intermediaries– Competitors– Operating Environment
Channel Design Decisions
Identifying Major Channel Alternatives• Types of Intermediaries
– Channel members to carry out the work– Many types of members may pose advantages and drawbacks
• Number of Intermediaries– Intensive Distribution, Exclusive Distribution and Selective Distribution– Intensive Distribution: stocking the product in as many outlets as possible– Exclusive Distribution: limited number of outlets have the right to distribute
the company’s product in the territory– Selective Distribution: selecting a few intermediaries who are willing to carry
the products
• Responsibilities of Channel Members– Terms and responsibilities need to be agreed between producer and
intermediaries– Price policies, terms of sale, territorial rights and services must be agreed
Channel Design Decisions
Evaluating Major Alternatives• Channel alternatives should be evaluated against
economic, control and adaptive criteria– Economic Criteria: sales, costs and profitability of channel
alternatives– Control Issues: who will control intermediaries and product flow– Adaptive Criteria: channel must be flexible to adapt to
environmental changes
• A channel involving long-term commitments must be superior on economic and control grounds to be considered
Channel Design Decisions
Designing International Distribution Channels• Channel systems vary widely from country to country• Marketers need to adapt their channel strategies to
structures prevalent in each individual country• Some countries will have complex distribution systems
with multi-layered intermediaries • Sometimes you can profitably access small portions of a
population cause of immature distribution channels• Customs and Government regulations play a crucial role
in how a company distributes products globally
Channel Management Decisions
Marketing Channel Management: the selection, management and motivation of individual channel members and evaluating their performance over a period
Selecting Channel Members• A company should always evaluate channel member’s
– experience, – lines carried, – growth and profit records, – cooperativeness and – reputation
• Sales Agents: evaluate the number and character of lines carried and size and quality of sales force
• Retail Stores: store’s customers, locations, and growth potential
Channel Management Decisions
Managing and Motivating Channel Members• The company has to continuously motivate channel
members to do their best• Company has to sell to the intermediaries and with them
– they’re 1st line customers and partners• Partner relationship management is practised to forge
long-term partnerships with channel members• This ensures that we meet the needs of both the
company and its marketing partners• PRM and SCM software is now being used to plan and
manage relationships with channel partners
Channel Management Decisions
Evaluating Channel Members• Producers must regularly check channel member
performance • Standards such as:
– Sales quotas– Average inventory levels– Customer delivery time– Damaged and lost goods– Promotion and Training involvement– Customer services
• Intermediaries which perform well and add great value should be rewarded
• Poor performing intermediaries should be assisted or replaced
• Producers must be sensitive how they treat dealers
Marketing Logistics and SCM
Nature and Importance• Marketing Logistics: planning, implementing and controlling the
physical flow of materials, final goods and related information from origin to consumption to meet customer requirements at a profit
• This means getting the right product to the right customer in the right place at the right time
• Marketing logistics involves outbound, inbound and reverse distribution– Outbound Distribution: from factory to resellers to consumers– Inbound Distribution: from suppliers back to the factory– Reverse Distribution: moving unwanted, returned or excess products
• Supply Chain Management: managing upstream and downstream value-added flows of materials, final goods, and related information amongst suppliers, resellers, the company and consumers
Marketing Logistics and SCM
Nature and Importance• There’s a greater emphasis on logistics for
the following reasons:– Powerful competitive advantage: better
service at lower prices– Cost savings to company and customers– Greater and increased product variety– Technology improvements making it easier– Environmental sustainability efforts: green
supply chain to be responsible and profitable
Marketing Logistics and SCM
Goals of the Logistics System• Difficult to offer efficient distribution, maximum customer
services at a lower cost • Goal should be to provide a targeted level of service at
the least cost• Research into various distribution services is important
before service levels are set• Objective is to maximise profits and not sales• Can offer less services at a reduced price• Alternatively, offer higher prices for more services to
cover higher costs