Different Types of Marketing Channels

Enhance Distribution

The author of this report has been hypothetically named as the new marketing manager of an organization. The organization is looking to enhance their distribution. The author has decided, per the assignment, to look at the channel design decisions in the organization. There will be an analysis and evaluation of the channel design, the channel objectives and the different channel alternatives. There will be a bringing forth of a recommendation on the most suitable design for the organization in question when it comes to channel management. There will also be a brief description of the organization in question and the products/services that are offered by the same. While over-analyzing channel design can lead to excessive second-guessing, it is important to get the channels figured out and aligned correctly.

Analysis

Per the class text, channel management from a marketing perspective if the overall practice of and focus on getting a product from the point it is made to the point it is in the hands of the consumer and being used. For a company that makes cinnamon rolls, this would be getting the rolls from the factory at which they are made to the point at which the customer buys and then consumers the rolls. When it comes to things like shirts, this would mean from the point the shirt is sewn and otherwise manufactured and then is eventually bought and worn by the consumer (Kotler, 2013). The company that the author of this report will use is Apple. Indeed, they have several major channels they need to worry about. Some of them are similar but some are widely different. For example, the Apple iPods and iPhones are similar in that they are both made mostly in China and they are eventually packaged, exported and sold in other countries like the United States and across Europe. However, they also sell products like the Apple TV box which relies heavily on compatibility and partnership with other companies like Hulu, Netflix and so forth. Even more abstract and esoteric would be the existence of Apple iTunes. Indeed, the vast majority of the commerce and activity that occurs through iTunes is actually contractual and online in nature. Indeed, a lot of the music, movies and so forth sold through iTunes do not involve any physical media. For example, if someone buys an MP3 of Adele's new single, there is an electronic exchange of money and the MP3 is then sent to the buyer. The song itself had to be written and produced so it was technically manufactured. However, it can then be reproduced as many times as is necessary as people buy the product or otherwise procure it (Apple, 2015).

Enhancing distribution of the iPods/iPhone channel would be done in a number of ways. First, there would need to be a focus on keeping manufacturing costs down but in a way that keeps the involved workers safe and Apple out of the gutter when it comes to factory conditions and what happens to the workers within the same. The iPods and iPhones then have to be packaged and exported from Chine (or wherever they are made) and imported into the countries that they are sold in like those in Europe and North America. They are then delivered to authorized resellers like Apple stores, Wal-Marts and so forth. Apple has a very huge market presence already but they can always expand to more sites. Unfortunately, some of the best forums to sell their goods are going to be limited. One example is Amazon as they sell their own goods relating to MP3's and Amazon also has a streaming/online sales business much like Apple and other firms. Even so, no company has the presence of Apple when it comes to MP3 players. The cell phone market is a little different Android and Microsoft are putting up stiff competition to the iPhone. As such, Apple needs to focus more efforts on getting market penetration with the iPhone. This was limited on purpose when the iPhone came out due to an exclusivity agreement with AT&T but that has since lapsed and the iPhone is now available with all of the major carriers. One thing that Apple has been burned by in the past and something that they should be mindful of regardless are the factory conditions of the places where their products are made and this is true whether they own the factories in question or not (Apple, 2015; Guardian, 2014).