Question

What is a marketing channel and what functions do these channels provide? How do companies select, motivate and evaluate channel members?

Answer 1

Any marketing channel are the organization or group of people who act as middlemen between producers and consumers . They trasfer ownership of goods from producers to consumers . As for example : distributors , retailers , wholesalers etc . The primary functions they provide are : buying products and resaling to consumers in the final market , distributing products among different groups of customers and supporting sales to customers through financing and other services so that everyone can afford it and sales increase .

Channel members are selected on the basis of their qualifications and their suitability for the particular purpose . People are selected on the basis of their adaptability and their urge to perform and fulfill the channel's objectives enthusiastically . Once selection is over then comes motivation . To forge long term relationships with channels motivation is utmost necessary . The company must support the channel menbers , provide incentives and rewards for good performance and for meeting the company's target . Evaluation of channel members is done based on their performance . A standard target is set and the members are evaluated on that basis .