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The distribution strategy is an integral part of any successful marketing mix. It’s important to know how to implement it, but more importantly, you should know what kind of distribution channel will help your business achieve its goals.
Distribution can be thought of as three things: where you sell your product, the size of your sales force, and how you source and supply your products.
It makes sense then that these are all connected in some way because the choice of place to sell your product, the number of people who work for you and the type of supplier you use both have direct impacts on whether or not your business succeeds.
Here we’ll take a look at the different types of distribution channels, why they matter and how each one fits into the overall success of your business.
One of the most fundamental things about marketing any product or service is where it will be distributed to find an audience. This includes everything from who you sell to how you market and position your products and services.
Distribution strategies depend on the end goal for the company, but there are some common factors that almost all companies need to consider at least briefly.
These include issues like how much money you have to spend, whether you want to focus on direct sales or indirect channels (like buying products and offering them as rewards for other purchases), and what kind of audience you want to reach with your brand.
There are also different types of distributors and markets that can be targeted with each channel, making it very important which ones you choose.
As mentioned before, your business’s main product is yourself. You are what you sell or promote. The harder you work to spread your message, the more people will want to buy your products and services.
Your distribution strategy determines how successful you will be in this endeavor. There are three major ways that determine how many people your product reaches:
Price – How much do you have to make to stay alive? If you can’t afford to pay your bills, then your product won’t reach as many people.
– How much do you have to make to stay alive? If you can’t afford to pay your bills, then your product won’t reach as many people. Place - Where can you put your product so it can reach the most people? For example, television stations are an excellent way to broadcast your messages to a large audience.
- Where can you put your product so it can reach the most people? For example, television stations are an excellent way to broadcast your messages to a large audience. Time – When can you place your product in front of the right people for the right amount of time? A movie must finish within minutes so it can be shown in theaters.
These things all play important roles in how well your product spreads its message.
You should know which ones matter the most to you.
While social media is not directly related to distribution, it IS linked to another important component of marketing mix- channelization. This term refers to how your marketer’s spend time promoting you and engaging with people about you.
Social media like Facebook and Twitter take up time for marketers and business owners. They have to devote time to create quality content that attracts attention and engages users, to share their company’s products and services.
These resources are also used to promote you as an individual or product, through posting pictures and videos and linking to other sites and materials about you. To keep engagement high, they must update content frequently and be direct and truthful in what they say.
As companies invest more time into these mediums, they need to make sure there is still enough time left in their day to do things such as work, eat, sleep, etc.
This can sometimes be a challenge when workers are spread out across departments and areas, and individuals have different responsibilities.
A growing number of businesses use advertisements as one of their main distribution strategies. This is usually referred to as advertisement or marketing online. These are sometimes called sponsored posts, promoted tweets, or even paid postings on social media sites like Facebook.
Most people recognize advertising when they see it; brands spend money to promote their products by putting up posters, billboards, or commercials for them. But what if we took this approach and applied it to the internet in general?
That’s how most websites make money these days- through advertisements! For example, you may have noticed that some websites do not offer free service accounts. Instead, they ask you to pay a monthly fee to access their resources.
This is an advertisement for their services, because companies will typically cost more per month to produce a good experience for users than individuals would be willing to pay.
The reason why large corporations opt to invest in website services instead of building their own is due to distributions. Distributors get a percentage back from every product they sell, which is why there are so many digital goods available everywhere you look.
