Marketing Channel Strategy
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, even if what they produce is intangible. In this sense, productivity derives from the value that end-users place on the service outputs that result from channel efforts. The activities that produce the service outputs demanded by end-users are the channel functions . CHANNEL BASICS 46 Auditing what channel functions get performed by each channel member in the existing channel system, by whom, at what levels, and at what cost, provides several important benefits: 1. Detailed knowledge of the capabilities of each channel member allows them to diagnose and remedy shortcomings in the pricing and provision of service outputs to targeted segments. 2. An audit may identify gaps in service outputs desired by targeted end-user seg- ments, such that service providers can add necessary new channels or revise currently existing ones to address the shortcomings. 3. Knowing which channel members have incurred the costs of performing which channel functions helps members allocate channel profits equitably. In turn, channel members can better preserve a sense of fairness and cooperation and avert channel conflicts. Our discussion in this section accordingly focuses on identifying and describing channel functions, as well as outlining how managers can audit channel systems to identify a zero-based channel, service gaps, or excessive costs. Specific channel members can specialize in one or more channel functions, even as they remain excluded from other activities. This exclusion condition may make it appear tempting to remove another member from the channel (i.e., change the channel structure). But the specialized functions performed by that channel mem- ber cannot simply be eliminated. After a channel member leaves the channel, its functions must shift to some other channel member, to preserve the service output provision. An exception arises only if the eliminated channel member was per- forming activities that also were being addressed elsewhere in the channel, such that its contributions to the service output were redundant. For example, when an employed salesperson and an independent distributor’s sales rep call on the same customer, they waste effort and resources. The channel may be better off using one or the other, not both, types of salespeople. Every channel function contributes to the production of valued service outputs and also produces costs. Table 2.1 uses CDW as an example and offers some exam- ples of channel cost-generating activities associated with each function. tải về 5.39 Mb. Chia sẻ với bạn bè của bạn:
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