Marketing Channel Strategy

END-USER ANALYSIS
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The CDW Sidebar (10.1) outlines several types of customer service that are valued 
by small- to medium-sized business buyers, as encapsulated in the simple state-
ment: “We’re the chief technical officer for many smaller firms.”
Excellent customer service can translate directly into sales and profit. But a U.S. 
industry that has long been plagued by poor customer service is cable and other pay 
television services. In American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) surveys, cable 
TV operators often earn some of the lowest customer satisfaction scores of any com-
pany or industry.
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Customer service is typically outsourced to third-party providers 
(another channel partner), which offer low pay and poor training to their employ-
ees. In contrast, DirecTV ranks at the top of its industry in customer satisfaction 
and enjoys high average monthly revenues from its customers, as well as a very low 
churn rate (i.e., the rate of turnover of end-users buying its service)—even though it 
uses the same outsourced customer service companies as some of its competitors. 
How does it accomplish this? It stations an employee at each of its outsourced call 
centers, to gain more control; it pays the call centers more for customer service, 
which translates into better service provision; it issues better information to cus-
tomer service reps, through an overhauled information system; and it gives the 
customer service reps various non-monetary forms of compensation, such as free 
satellite TV.
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The type of customer service offered also must be sensitive to the targeted end-
user. Cabela’s, a small chain of stores catering to outdoorsy people, recognizes a 
key feature of its mostly male target market: these men hate to shop. To appeal to 
them, Cabela’s makes its stores showcases of nature scenes, waterfalls, and stuffed 
animals, then staffs each department liberally with well-trained sales staff who 
must pass tests to demonstrate their knowledge of the products. Outside its rural 
stores, it offers kennels (for dogs) and corrals (for horses), to cater to customers 
who visit in the middle of a hunting trip. Cabela’s augments this targeted cus-
tomer service with a carefully determined product assortment. The depth of its 
assortment in most categories is six to ten times greater than that of competitors 
such as Walmart, and it stocks high-end items, not just low-priced, low-quality 
goods. To appeal to other members of the family, it also offers a relatively broad 
assortment that draws in women and children. Cabela’s understands that rural 
shoppers want more than Walmart can provide; they care about service, fashion, 
and ambiance, not just price, so it can routinely draw shoppers who travel hours 
to reach its store (i.e., who are willing to trade off spatial convenience for superior 
customer service and assortment).
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Information Sharing
Finally, 

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