Channel Concepts: Distributing the Product

Read this chapter. Push and pull strategies are based on how the customer perceives a product. For example, if the company wants to sell a product, it may aggressively push it through the distribution channel and into stores with pricing incentives. This is often seen with products the customer does not have a perceived need or desire for. A pull strategy is based on satisfying a customer's wants or needs. It is almost as if the customer is pulling the product through the distribution channel. Channel membership is a distribution strategy based on the type of product in question. If quality and reliability are important, marketers will use exclusive distributions or "authorized resellers". Intensive distribution is the opposite; a marketer will allow just about anyone to carry a product. Convenience foods are a good example. Just about every check-out line in a store now has snacks and sodas.

ROLE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Learning Objectives

The objectives of this section is to help students …

  • Understand the role of distribution channels
  • Understand the flows in channels

Source: Open Book Publishing, https://opentext.wsu.edu/marketing/chapter/10-1/
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.