TEAM MEMBERS:ANOOP K.CARUN K.ANISHA MARY THOMASRHEEJA M

Describe the nature of distribution channels, and tell why marketing intermediaries are used.

Discuss the different marketing intermediaries available & state the benefits each of these intermediaries offers?

Describe the relationship between internet marketing, database marketing, and direct marketing?

Describe how firms in the tourism industry are using internet as a distribution channel?

A distribution channel is a set of independent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available to the consumer or business user.

Distribution systems can be viewed as the company’s circulatory system.

Distribution systems provide a steady flow of customers.

Starts with the selection of channel members.

Once members have been selected, the focus shifts to managing the channel.

In Marketing, distribution systems are traditionally used to move goods(tangible products) from the manufacturer to the consumer.

In the hospitality and travel industries, distribution systems are used to move the customer to the product: the hotel, restaurant, cruise ship or airplane.

In the hospitality and travel industries, distribution channels create thousands of jobs.

It overcomes the major time, place & possesssion gaps that separates goods & services from those who would use them.

The company does not have to maintain several display rooms and a large sales force in every major city.

Selling through wholesalers and retailers is much more efficient than direct sales.

It enables the purchaser to have access to small quantities of products, which inturn become part of a large order.

Reduces inventory requirements, number of deliveries, and number of processed invoices.

Can avoid unnecessary work and shipping costs for both the manufacturer and the customer.

Intermediaries can provide economies.

Information: gathering and distributing marketing research and intelligence information about the marketing environment.

Promotion: developing and spreading persuasive communications about an offer.

Contact: finding and communicating with prospective buyers.

Matching: shaping and fitting the offer to the buyer’s needs.

This includes activities such as manufacturing, grading, assembling, and packaging.

Negotiation: agreeing on price and other terms of the offer so that ownership or possession can be transferred.

Physical distribution: transporting and storing goods.

Financing: acquiring and using funds to cover the costs of channel work.

Risk taking: assuming financial risks such as the inability to sell inventory at full margin.

Distribution channels can be described by the number of channel levels.

Channel level: each layer that performs some work in bringing the product and its ownership closer to the final buyer.

The number of intermediary levels determine the length of the channel.

THANK YOU