Marketing Strategy and Plan: Distribution Channel Analysis Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of distribution channels within a marketing context. It begins by defining distribution channels and highlighting their significance in the marketing process, emphasizing their role in customer satisfaction, sales optimization, brand protection, value addition, and effective communication. The report then differentiates between direct and indirect distribution channels, outlining their respective advantages and disadvantages. A key component involves summarizing a peer-reviewed article on multichannel product distribution and its impact on firm performance, emphasizing the strategic decisions companies make regarding distribution channels to maintain control and adapt to market changes. The analysis extends to how distribution channels contribute to maintaining a satisfied target market, highlighting the importance of providing accessible goods and services. The report further examines the similarities and differences in distribution strategies for online versus brick-and-mortar businesses, using Nike as a case study. The report concludes with recommendations for optimizing distribution strategies, including prioritizing channel relationships, avoiding pricing conflicts, and focusing on revenue generation.

Running head: MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Marketing Strategy and Plan
Name of the Student:
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Author Note:

1MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Executive Summary:
The report gives an overview of marketing strategy and plan. It commences with a definition
of the distribution channel and goes on top discusses its importance in the marketing process.
The report discusses about the differences between the direct and the indirect channels of
distribution. The report also puts forward a peer reviewed article along with an elaboration of
its core message. There is also an analysis about the relationship distribution channel have in
maintaining a satisfied target audience. The similarities and differences in distribution
strategies of both the online versus the brick and mortar business are discussed in the
perspective of Nike. The report however ends with recommendations on the distribution
strategy.

2MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Table of Contents
Definition of Distribution Channel and Its Importance in Marketing Process................................3
Difference between Direct and Indirect Distribution Channel........................................................4
Summary of the Article...................................................................................................................5
Distribution Channels in Maintaining a Satisfied Target Market....................................................6
Similarities and Differences in the Distribution Strategy for Online versus Brick Mortar
Business...........................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion and Recommendations:................................................................................................7
References:....................................................................................................................................10

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Definition of Distribution Channel and Its Importance in Marketing Process
Distribution channel represents intermediaries or business chain via which a service
or good is passed before it finally reaches end customers (Yang et al., 2013). This includes
the retailers, wholesalers, distributors and the internet.
Distribution is one of the key marketing mixes that hold an importance in the
marketing process because of the following reasons (Gillespie & Riddle, 2015):
 Ensure Satisfaction: The process of marketing focuses on profit through the
satisfaction of customers. The distribution channel not only promotes market research
for development and sale of good as per customer need .
 Optimizes Sales Volume: The presence of the distribution channels helps in
optimizing the volume of the sales thereby giving a boost to the process of marketing.
 Ensure Protecting a Brand: A high end brand requires a specific channel of
distribution for capturing the market otherwise the brand loses its value. Distribution
channel thus helps in protecting a brand.
 Leads to Value Addition: The presence of the distribution channels enhances
importance of the product through creation of utility of time, place and quantity.
 Ensure Better Communication: The distribution channel acts as a linkage between
the producers and the customers.
Difference between Direct and Indirect Distribution Channel
A distribution channels is categorized into the direct and the indirect form. The direct
distribution channel is organized and managed itself by a firm (Qiang et al., 2013). This form
of distribution channel allows customers to buy goods from manufacturer. There are certain
advantages and disadvantages of the direct distribution channel which are follows:

4MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
Advantages:
 This form of distribution channel ensures complete control over the marketing
and selling of the product.
 This distribution channel rules out for the shelf space for competition
Disadvantages:
 This type of distribution channel sometimes leads to limited coverage of the
market
 This kind of distribution channel is more expensive and time consuming for
business owners
Indirect channel on the other hand depends on the intermediaries for performing most
of distribution functions thereby making sure that the consumers buys the good from either
from the retailer and the wholesaler (Khan, 2014). The advantages and disadvantages of this
type of distribution channel include:
Advantages:
 The agents of distribution specializes in introducing products into various
markets
 A retailer might sell the product of the competitor besides selling a specific
product. Retailers are however aware of the local market and knows the ways
of selling a product in that particular market. Although the particular product
might face competition for the shelf space but it will finally show higher
volume of sales.
Disadvantages:

5MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
 The profits get distributed amongst the producers and the distributors.
Summary of the Article
The article focuses on the effect of multi channel product distribution on the
performance of the firm put forward by authors Kalubanga Matthew, Tumwebaze Samuel
and Kakwezi Patrick. The core message of the article portray that for coping with the
instability of the market and remain responsive to customer needs, many companies adopt
different forms of distribution channels (Kalubanga, Tumwebaze & Kakwezi, 2012).
However, it was found that while some of the firms adopted multiple approaches for product
distribution whereas others have depended on single distribution channel for its products.
According to the total number of distribution channels determines an organizational ploy for
increasing the control over the market. According to a recent trend, manufacturing firms
increasingly adapts to the multichannel distribution for enhancing its marketing. A crucial
strategic issue for the firm lies in how a company with a product to sell makes it available to
the target customers. As per this article, manufacturers deliberately adopt the distribution
channel for ensuring more control over marketing. The article also puts forward that the
dependence on distribution channels has helped the manufacturers to not only have direct
control on pricing and distribution but have greater flexibility in experimenting with newer
attributes of products, maintain close contact with the customers and protection against any
crisis faced in relation to distribution.
Distribution Channels in Maintaining a Satisfied Target Market
Companies therefore form partnership with one another in alleviating the customers
from such a burden in contacting and buying the required products from the producers. Thus,
the seller puts forward specific avenues for making the finished goods and services available
to the customers in order to make a purchase. These specific avenues allow the consumers in

6MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN
buying goods either from a store or online or from salesperson and are referred as the
distribution channel (Christopher, Payne & Ballantyne, 2013). The distribution channel
enables in the maintenance of content target market as it plays a key role in improving the
standard of living of the consumers within a society. Accurate distribution of the required
goods and the services to consumers at the right time not only ensures greater satisfaction but
also leads to change in the standard of living. Besides, the presence of the distribution
channels also generates employment, transfer of the ownership and the increase in the
income. Thus, the presence of distribution channel brings about a positive impact within the
society.
Similarities and Differences in the Distribution Strategy for Online versus Brick Mortar
Business
Similarities:
1. Need for Market Research: Both the online and the brick and mortar business of
Nike needs to identify the customers before reaching out to them.
2. Focus on Marketing Incentives: The distribution strategy for both the online and
brick mortar business of Nike uses customer incentives as their marketing tool (nike.com,
2018). This involves conduction of the crossover promotions between the products offered
online and offline along with the implementation of reward programs for the customers.
3. Focus on Marketing Innovation: Like all business, both the online and brick and
mortar system of Nike employs innovative approaches of marketing for reaching the
customers. This involves, marketing campaign via email, promotions via mobile phone and e
newsletters.
Differences:

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1. Goal for Sales: For instance, the brick and mortar business of Nike penetrates the
larger portion of the product buyers who does not even buy products online.
2. Cost of Advertising: For Nike, online advertising involves negligible cost
compared to the offline advertising that involves large payments thereby making it expensive.
3. Distribution: The distribution channel of the brick and mortar store of Nike needs
to involve a middle man while the online business does not need to have an established
network for distribution.
Conclusion and Recommendations:
Recommendations include:
The company can make the distribution strategy its priority and ensure building
relationship at each step of the channel
The distribution strategy of the company should ensure avoiding any pricing conflicts
The distribution strategy should enable the company in generating highest revenue.
This was the best solution put forward the company since its execution dramatically
boost the company’s top line.

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References:
Christopher, M., Payne, A., & Ballantyne, D. (2013). Relationship marketing. Routledge.
Gillespie, K., & Riddle, L. (2015). Global marketing. Routledge.
Kalubanga, M., Tumwebaze, S., & Kakwezi, P. (2012). Examining the Effect of Multi-
Channel Product Distribution on Firms’ Performance. International Journal Of Economics
And Management Sciences, Vol. 1 2012(No. 12), 90-103.
Khan, M. T. (2014). The concept of'marketing mix'and its elements (a conceptual review
paper). International journal of information, business and management, 6(2), 95.
Kozlenkova, I., Hult, T., Lund, D., Mena, J., & Kekec, P. (2015). The Role of Marketing
Channels in Supply Chain Management. Journal Of Retailing, 91(4).
nike.com. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.nike.com/us/en_us/
Qiang, Q., Ke, K., Anderson, T., & Dong, J. (2013). The closed-loop supply chain network
with competition, distribution channel investment, and uncertainties. Omega, 41(2), 186-
194.
Yang, J., Xie, J., Deng, X., & Xiong, H. (2013). Cooperative advertising in a distribution
channel with fairness concerns. European Journal of Operational Research, 227(2), 401-
407.