The Independent Beauty Consultant in Marketing Channels - Assignment Example

When a consumer receives a defective product then he or she can return the products back to the independent beauty consultant and get it exchanged. When a consumer buys cosmetics from a drug store or department store then he might not get a chance to exchange the products in case of a defect. The independent beauty consultants stress building a good relationship with the customer so they exchange the product in case of a defect. They absorb the loss that arises from exchanging the product. The department store or drug store might not exchange the products because building consumer loyalty is not their motive.

Answer 2

Advertising agencies can be considered as a part of the channel as they will effectively market the product in the market. This will help in building the brand image of the company. Including financial institutions in the channel will not be fruitful for the organization as an effective marketing and selling the product will not be possible. The financial institution will not contribute to building a brand image so including a financial institution is not worth it. From a managerial perspective, the organization must consider customers as an element of the task environment. Customers are the end-users so they cannot be included as a member of the channel but can be included as an element of the task environment. Consumers can surely be included in channel management. They will help to increase the sales of the organization. Example- Consumers can be appointed as independent beauty consultants by the organization.

Answer 3

Using various media for advertisement will reduce the distance. Advertisement is done to reach to attract a large number of customers. Advertising through the web and cyberspace will reduce the distance as been discussed by Alderson.

Answer 4

Product segmentation can be done between customers like "small, medium, and large" but in the case of service, segmentation cannot be done into small, medium, and large. Example steel can be sold in small medium or huge lots but computer services cannot be segmented.

Answer 5

In the case of consumer goods like bread and breakfast cereal, the channel of distribution used is a grocery store.

Answer 6

(A) When selling and servicing ultrasound machines in a hospital emergency room highly effective channel flow is needed.

1. b) In the case of an academic medical researcher a less effective channel of flow will do because he does not have any emergency requirement.

Answer 7

A channel manager must seek to target a maximum number of segments in order to increase the volume of sales but he has to keep in mind that the more segments he targets, the larger variety of products must be produced by the organization.

Answer 8

A demand-side gap in the service channel can arise when the services provided are not of high quality as demanded by the customers.

Answer 9

A supply-side gap can arise if quality products are not produced in time to cater to the requirements of the customers. When the supply is low and the demand is high then a supply-side gap is created. Bringing in advanced technology to produce can reduce this gap.