Channel Structures, Global Advertising, and Sales Promotions

Introduction

Of the many factors that influence channel structures and strategies available to global marketers, the most prevalent are those related to customer relationships and the formation of trust (Karray, 2011). This consideration pervades all others, as companies must move away from designing their distribution channels solely to accomplish transactions and instead concentrate on creating long-standing relationships with customers. A secondary factor that influences channel structures and strategies is global brand advertising campaigns, an area analyzed and discussed in depth (Bengtsson, Bardhi, & Venkatraman, 2010). A third factor is the role of sales promotion in the marketing mix, and how that specific strategy varies between consumer and industrial products and services, further distinguishing channel structures and strategies across markets (Dogan, 2010).

Attaining Profitability Through Channel Management, Brand and Marketing Mix Integration

Distribution channel structures and strategies must stay in step with branding, advertising, and sales promotion strategies if all three are to contribute to higher levels of sales and profitability (Yoo & Lee, 2011). Of these three areas, however, channel structures and strategies are the most specific to a given market and the most affected by rapid changes in product or service demand (Karray, 2011). They are also the area of advertising, branding, and marketing strategy with the greatest need for continual knowledge updates — including support from product management, marketing, product strategy, and services marketing in both B2C and B2B markets (Wang, Chen, & Wu, 2011).

Another key factor that significantly affects channel structure and strategy performance is the depth of insight a company has into its customers' buying process — who the key members of the evaluation process are and how they choose to evaluate products over the long term (Yoo & Lee, 2011). This is one of the more critical factors influencing demand for B2B-oriented products and services, as the purchasing cycle is typically very long and requires intensive in-account coordination to be executed well.

A fourth factor is the pervasive use of technology to create greater levels of collaboration and communication across the many different members and groups within a given distribution channel, uniting it with the supply chain it depends on for effectively fulfilling product demand over time (Karray, 2011). Both B2C and B2B distribution channels need a pervasive level of collaboration and communication to ensure their respective supply chains can fulfill product and service demand. In that sense, the demand visibility that must be present in a distribution channel's structure — allowing it to remain coordinated with its supply chain — is critical and essential for profitability to be attained over the long term (Karray, 2011).

Global Branding and Advertising Campaign Contributions

The contributory effects of global brands and global advertising create much higher levels of awareness, intention, and action toward trying a product or service, and advertising campaigns are the basis through which these communications goals are achieved (Bengtsson, Bardhi, & Venkatraman, 2010). Global branding and advertising campaigns must account for their cumulative contribution to company growth, pipeline development, and the quantified results of specific sales promotion and product trial initiatives (Kim, 2010). The fact that branding has become an essential aspect of any company's social media strategy further supports its contribution to profitability (Melo & Galan, 2011).

Branding and global advertising campaigns are best managed as part of a global integrated marketing communications (IMC) strategy with quantified goals, like every other area of the marketing mix (Kim, 2010). By focusing on the measurable contributions of branding and global advertising campaigns, their impacts can be attributed to specific program or platform decisions — tying back, for example, to the effectiveness of a given social media strategy. All attributes of branding and advertising campaigns also serve as catalysts of activity throughout distribution channels, bringing prospects to websites, distribution outlets, and partner reseller networks. Branding and advertising strategies thus serve as a foundation for messaging and motivating new potential prospects to try new products and services. Across both B2C and B2B markets, branding and advertising platforms are used for conveying unique, highly differentiated value propositions over time.

Conclusion

Channel structures and strategies, global brands and advertising strategies, and the role of sales promotion in the marketing mix all combine to create a unified marketing and selling strategy that companies can rely on to increase sales and profitability. This analysis has sought to demonstrate how critical their synchronization is across an organization's channels and departments, all unified toward the common goal of capturing prospect interest and leading to initial product or service trial. This process varies significantly across B2B and B2C markets and industries; yet despite this wide variation, all share a common focus on creating a trusted-advisor relationship with prospects in order to convert them into customers.