Marketing

What is marketing channel?

INTERMEDIARIES
  * Merchants
Wholesalers, retailers
  * Agents
Brokers, sales agents
  * Facilitators
Warehouses, banks, advertising agencies

IMPORTANCE OF CHANNELS
  * Represents opportunity cost
  * Convert potential buyers to profitable customers
  * Not just serve markets, they must make markets
  * Affects all other marketing decisions
  * Push strategy – sales force, trade promotion
  * Pull strategy – advertising
  * Both push and pull
  * Coca-cola, Intel, Nike

CHANNEL DEVELOPMENT
  * New firm with existing intermediaries
  * Convincing intermediaries is a problem.
  * If firm is successful, Uses retailers, distributors, merchants, outlets, sales agents
  * Customer’s shopping habits vary
  * Retailers – Germany’s Aldi, UK’s Tesco
  * Marks & Spencer, Wal-Mart – same selling formula

HYBRID CHANNEL
  * Go-to-market concept
  * Companies have to make sure that these channels work well together and should meet targeted customers’ demand.
  * Channel integration.
  * ICICI – branches, franchisees, kiosks, micro-finance institution.

DEVELOPING DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL FOR RURAL MARKETING
  * Hub and Spoke model – Pepsi & Coke
  * Large distributors in bigger towns (HUB)
      * – served by the company with greater frequency.
  * BPCL – mobile rural marketing vehicle
  * New connection of LPG , refilling unit.
  * Essilor – van
  * Alegion insurance Services Ltd –brokerage firm
  * Maruti Omni van -> office unit
  * TTK prestige – SHG & NGO in ANDHRA to market its Pressure cooker.
  * HUL – linkage mechanism with SHG
  * Insurance companies like Birla Sun Life, Aviva, Max New York Life have entered in tie-up with SHG,NGO & cooperatives
  * Win-Win situation

UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER NEEDS
Different consumers have diff needs during their purchase process.
Acc to Research – Nunes & Cespedes said that buyers fall into one of four...