Question

Why is selecting the most suitable channel participants and gaining access to a target extremely important? What steps must be taken to ensure the flow of the firm’s products through the channel??over 400 words?

Answer 1

Any organization requires some kind of channel members in order to facilitate the products and services to its target customers. In fact, the quality of services offered and product facilitated to the customer greatly depends upon the nature and characteristics of channel partners. While selecting the channel partners, the most important issue is to find out the strong channel partner so that all the required distribution functions can be performed efficiently and all the distribution strategies of the company can be executed quite efficiently.

Apart from this, these channel partners play a very major role in creating the brand image of the company and achieving the higher customer satisfaction level by offering greater distribution services. These channel members also result in creating competitive advantage for the company as by having strong distribution channel, the organization will be able to facilitate the products at a faster speed with less distribution cost and thereby the total cost of the product can be reduced which can be passed to the customers in the form of reduced price of the products and services. .

By having access to the target market, the company can communicate its offerings to the customers effectively. The organization can create a strong brand loyalty and customer base if it is able to provide the products and services at a relatively lower cost with prompt services. In the fulfilment of this objective, the role of channel partners becomes quite important. Access to the target market also enables the organization to understand the expectations and requirements of the customers and these can be implemented in the products and services of the organization.

The following steps can be taken by the organization in order to ensure the flow of the firm’s products through the channel:-

Identify the target customer:- This is the first step in which the company needs to identify the target market to whom it wants to provide its products and services

Identify the channel functions:- Once the target customers are determined, the organisation need to determine the different functions which have to play by the channel members, for example, the channel members will be used for providing products, or after sales services and so on.

Comparing the competitor’s distribution strategy:- This is quite important in order to ensure that the products of the companies are available to all those locations where the products of the competitors are also present. The speed of distribution is also one of the important factors in this.

Development of feasible channels:- In this step, the companies develop and try to find out different channel options which can be used by the companies under various constraints

Determine the cost and benefit of each alternative:- in order to be cost-effective, the company needs to analyse the cost and benefit associated with each channel alternatives

Selecting the best alternative- Depending on the distribution strategy, cost and services to be offered, the best alternative is selected in order to facilitate the product to the customer.