DISCUSSION ON TOPIC 9
- Some manufacturers and retailers advertise that customers should buy from them because they “eliminate the middleman.” Evaluate this comment in light of the functions that must be performed in a marketing channel. Does a channel with fewer members always deliver products to customers at lower prices? Defend your position.
- Describe the characteristics of a product that represents something you would go to great lengths to acquire, thus supporting a manufacturer’s use of an exclusive distribution strategy. Why is the service better and the salespeople more knowledgeable at an exclusive distribution location versus an intensive distribution location?
- What are the major differences you have experienced in buying a product through a traditional retail store, a manufacturer’s physical store, a catalog, and an online merchant? What have some retailers in your area done to justify their ongoing presence in the channel?
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