Reflective Essay on Marketing Channels

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MARKETING CHANNELS
REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON MARKETING CHANNELS
(Author)
(Institution)

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MARKETING CHANNELS
Introduction
The study on marketing channels course has given me a broad understanding of the management
of marketing channels. I have learned that marketing channels are the activities, people, and
organizations necessary for the transfer of goods ownership from production point to
consumption point. As a channel for distribution, marketing channels entail the way end-users
get products and services (Jayaraman & Luo 2007 pp.56-73). These channels entail the way
goods and services are availed to the customer for use. The efficiency of an organization’s
marketing strategies will depend substantially on how goods and services go through the
channels of distribution. The route through which a commodity follows from the point of
production to the final consumer is imperative since a marketer is obliged to determine which
channel or route is most suitable. Dual distribution is a form of a marketing channel that I have
realized is less known. Dual distribution enables wholesalers to get to the consumer through the
use of different distribution channels (Boulding et al. 2005 pp.155-166). The essay aims to
reflect on what I learned from the lectures on marketing channels course on Channel
Management Challenges in Professional Services Organizations, Pharmaceutical Marketing
Channel Management, and Marketing Revolution.
Channel Management Challenges in Professional Services Organizations
Based on instructor John Clay’s lecture on marketing channels in the professional service
industry, I have learned that the service industry has very unique marketing channels. The use of
channel distribution combinations in the service industry helps the companies manage their
services demand (Van et al. 2010 pp.331-340). I have realized that the service industry has a
different client engagement criterion with the income equaling billable hours multiplied by the
charge out rates through the seller-doer criteria. The service industry greatly invests in winning

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business and clients and therefore combines several service lines into a single line in order to
achieve results that are better (Ansari et al. 2008 pp.60-76). I have learned that multiple parties
including accountants, engineers, marketers, architects, and legal services come together so as to
execute large projects and must all work hand in hand in order to make the project work.
I now know that the service industry can choose numerous channels so as to reach different
strategies for pricing that are aligned with the income of the members of the market segment.
The strategy enables service industries to get access to new markets as well as bridging demand
reductions that are temporal using a low counting channel that is integrative and one that cannot
be isolated (Cattani et al. 2006 p.40). The professional services channel can be direct where
people need personalized consultation, or indirect, where people are satisfied with buying off the
plan (Knox & Freeman 2006 pp.695-716). I have noted that there exist Omni channels which
may be part of consortiums, through intermediaries or direct to the client. I learned that short
channels have complex solutions in online service delivery through customer interaction on
channels that are different. I had trouble understanding how the channel for direct sales allows
the service industry to contact their customers while not using mail orders, online or through
visits but realized that the service industry has full control on their pricing and offers
presentation.
Pharmaceutical Marketing Channel Management
Lecturer Joyce Li gave me a deep insight into the management of marketing channels for the
pharmaceutical sector that is important in the fight to win patients and customers. I understood
that personalized medicine, real-life data, and value-based pricing, were all vital marketing
strategies that are being put to use in pharmaceutical marketing. I learned that depending on how
access to the market is for pharma marketers, focusing on the fast moving consumer goods is not