Marketing channel is the set of activities practiced to transfer the goods or services from the manufacturer to the consumer. A marketing channel is a way through which the products or services reach the end user, the consumer. It can also be defined as the distribution channel or ‘route-to-market’. A Marketing channel is a must for the promotion of any sort of business. Manufacturers should have an idea on different marketing channels to design a better distribution strategy. Marketing channel plays crucial role in the development of distribution strategy to promote a product or service in the competitive market.
Roles of marketing channel
Marketing channel not only helps to design an effective distribution strategy but also plays different roles in business promotion. Few of the important roles of the marketing channel are shown below.
- A marketing channel links manufacturer to the consumer
- It influence the pricing strategy of the manufacturer affecting the branding, policies and willingness to stock the goods etc
- It influences the profits and helps to maintain the profits offering credits etc.
Important marketing channels
Manufacturers follow different types of marketing channels to promote their business. The four main types of marketing channels used by producers or manufacturers can be listed as direct selling channel, Intermediary selling channel, dual distribution selling channel and reverse selling channel etc.
Direct Selling Channel
The Direct selling channel is also known as direct channel, in which the manufacturer sells the goods or provides the service directly to the consumer without the involvement of an intermediary such as a wholesaler, a retailer, an agent, or a re seller etc. Manufacturers sell the products or goods through a website or company owned store to the consumer in the direct selling channel.
Intermediary Selling Channel
The Intermediary selling channel is also known as indirect channel, in which the intermediaries such as wholesalers, retailer or an agent buys the product from the manufacture and sell them to the consumer directly. This channel helps the manufacturers that produce shopping goods like, clothes, shoes, furniture, tableware and toys etc. Since the customers need more time before they decide to purchase these products, it is in the best interest of the manufacturer to sell them to another user before it gets into the hand of the consumers. Intermediary selling channel helps the manufacturer to reach the end-user or the marketplace more quickly through an established network that already has brand loyalty.
Dual Distribution Selling Channel
A Dual distribution-selling channel refers to the variety of marketing channels or arrangements made by the manufacturer to reach the consumer. In this marketing channel a manufacturer may use more than one channel simultaneously to reach the end user. The manufacturer may sell the product or goods directly to the end users as well as sell to other companies for resale. Using two or more channels to attract the same target market can sometimes lead to channel conflict.
Reverse Selling Channel
It is one of the important marketing channels discovered due to the advent of technology in the recent years. In all the above three marketing channels, there is one thing in common is the flow pattern. The product or goods flow from producer to consumer directly or through any intermediary. Unlike the above channels the flow goes in the reverse direction from the consumer to intermediary to a beneficiary in the reverse selling channel. Making money through resale or recycling of the product or goods is an example of reverse selling channel.
So having understood the importance of marketing channels in business promotion, Saroj Ads, one of the best advertising agencies in India developed different channel distribution services for different products and services. Saroj Ads channels of distribution strategies help to expand the business of the clients to new territories improving sales volume. Saroj Ads is the best choice for any manufacturer or business to seek the services to promote a product or service.