To correctly identify opportunities and threats to their product, marketing managers need to understand the marketing environment in which their products operate.
Give an overview of the following distribution channels:
Channel levels: Direct versus indirect distribution
Channel organizations: Conventional, vertical, horizontal, and multichannel marketing systems
Analyze your target market's needs, and explain what you know about your target market and what it wants from a channel of distribution.
Determine which of the following channel members you will use, and explain why:
Indirect: Retailer, wholesaler, dealer, manufacturer's rep, and so forth
Direct: Catalog, telephone, sales force, and so forth
Discuss how many channel members you will use (intensive distribution, exclusive distribution, or selective distribution), and explain why.
Recommend a channel organization (conventional, vertical, horizontal, or multichannel marketing system), and explain why.