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Distribution channel marketing involves building and maintaining relationships with intermediaries, such as wholesale distributors and resellers, to effectively transfer merchandise to consumers. Distribution channel marketing managers focus on sell-through, monitoring product success, recommending promotions, and adapting packaging to meet retailers’ needs. They also maintain communication and negotiate conflicts within the distribution channel.
An important part of many businesses is maintaining good relationships within the distribution channel. A distribution channel consists of all parties involved in delivering a product from the original seller or manufacturer to the final consumer. Sometimes sales can be made directly from the manufacturer of the product to a customer, but in most cases there are intermediaries involved. These intermediaries are resellers, typically wholesale distributors or resellers, and are the backbone of distribution channel marketing. This type of marketing is aimed at researching and meeting the needs of retailers so that merchandise can be transferred through them to the consumer more effectively.
Together with channel sales directors, distribution channel marketing managers work to build and maintain strong distribution channels. While there is often some overlap between these two roles, channel sales executives tend to focus more on selling products in the distribution channel, while distribution channel marketers are primarily concerned with sell-through. The Sales Director is responsible for encouraging retailers to purchase the company’s products in the first place. Distribution channel marketing managers, on the other hand, aim to ensure that retailers can successfully promote these products and are able to sell them to the final consumer.
There are many ways that channel marketers can promote sell-through. They are responsible for monitoring a product’s success in the distribution channel and recommending promotions and campaigns to facilitate the product’s movement through it. They also frequently provide training courses or even scripts to help resellers succeed in final sales.
Because product marketing reflects the needs of consumers, channel marketing responds to the needs of retailers. As much as possible, managers try to adapt packaging and other presentation materials to the needs of the retailers’ businesses. A large neon sign, for example, might work to promote product in one store while clashing with another’s earthy color scheme.
Distribution channel marketing seeks to maintain strong communication with retailers so as to meet their needs. Frequent phone calls and ongoing web support for resellers are common means to this end. When a conflict arises within the distribution channel, such as between different retailers competing to sell the company’s products or between a retailer and the company’s direct sales campaigns, the challenge of negotiating a resolution usually rests with the distribution channel marketing manager.
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