Sales channels can influence which products customers
are exposed. Manager’s often select the sales channels they believe will best
foster business growth. The researchers Karamehmedovic and Bredmar (2013) investigated
the strategic choices behind how managers make sales channel decisions. You may
be shocked to find that most decisions are rooted in personal experience or
faulty logic without a thorough analysis of what makes one channel more
effective than others.
Managers regularly believe that marketing channels often
compete with each other. Even though this can be true in some cases, it is
often not the market related. Companies that use a single marketing channel are
often less competitive than those who find multiple ways of getting products
into the hands of customers (Porter, 2001). Marketing is about exposure and if
channels are not properly reviewed for effectiveness, the company may be missing
excellent opportunities.
Even though managers may have preferred channels all
business activities should focus on customer preferences. If customers prefer
certain channels to others, it would not be wise for the company to ignore that
information in their decision-making processes. Gaining market advantage by
connecting with customers in mediums that they used is helpful in ensuring
motivated purchasing behavior.
For example, in Sweden most of the major stores
market their products to physical locations in a push strategy. Even though
this was effective for their operations, the costs were much higher which in
turn impacts profit margins. Companies can reduce some of these costs by using
both physical and virtual sales.
Even though channels may have individual benefits,
they may also have collective benefits when used together. Marketing should
help ensure that customers are aware of the product and its features. When these
customers are exposed to products within multiple venues sales often increase.
Managers should use more of an analytically approach to channel selection and
consider the benefits of using more than one.
Karamehmedovic, L. & Bredmar, K. (2013). Sales Channel
as a strategic choice-sme managers seeking profitability. International business research, 6 (7)
