This book addresses the concerns of existing companies who wish to succeed in the new multi-channel environment as it develops and becomes commonplace.

Getting Multi-Channel Distribution Right provides a comprehensive treatment of modern distribution strategy that is analytically solid, clearly written, and relevant for managers as well as MBA and executive MBA students, and the professors who train them. It covers concepts, metrics, tools, and strategic frameworks for managing distribution in physical and digital channels. Focusing on the challenges of managing multiple channels of distribution in an evolving marketplace—rather than the process of designing a distribution channel from scratch—it leans more heavily on metrics and tools and incorporates perspectives from academic research, as well as in-depth case studies from marketing and general management practice. Introduces an organizing framework of pull and push marketing for how suppliers work together with their channel partners. Integrates across physical and digital, independent and company-owned, routes to market. Maps the functions of traditional and newer intermediaries in the channel ecosystem and identifies the root causes of conflict between them. Provides tools and frameworks for how much distribution coverage is required and where. Shows how product line, pricing, trade promotions, and other channel incentives can help to coordinate multiple channels and manage conflict. Illustrates how push and pull metrics can be combined into valuable dashboards for identifying positive feedback opportunities and sustaining the channel partnership. With the help of Getting Multi-Channel Distribution Right you’ll discover how to successfully develop, execute, and adapt distribution strategy to the evolving marketplace.

While innovation in products and services continues apace, today's competitive strategy is equally based on innovation in the route to market. Tesco.com, Direct Line, First Direct and easyJet are just a few examples of innovative channel strategies as a key component of the value proposition. We find ourselves in a multi-channel world. This book is drawn from the experience of major companies such as IBM, First Direct, Taylor Woodrow and BT. Lessons are explained clearly: be Multi not multiple; channels as weapons; think combinations; design from the top, but think people and measure it. The key concepts are backed by carefully tested practical advice from making organisational change to understanding channel metrics. Based on work from Cranfield's world leading Customer Management Forum, this is the essential practical guide for senior management in key areas like marketing, sales, customer services and strategy.

This book aims to revisit the “traditional” interaction between channel strategies and the marketing mix in a connected world. In particular, it focuses on the following four dimensions in this context: Consumers, Products, Value Proposition and Sustainability. Keeping in mind the growing digitalization of business processes in the retail world and the move towards omni-channel retailing, the book introduces the state-of-the-art academic and practitioner studies along these dimensions that could enhance the understanding of the potential impact that new technologies and strategies can have on practice in the near future. When launching a new product/service to market, firms usually consider various components of the marketing mix to influence consumers’ purchase behaviors, such as product design, convenience, value proposition, promotions, sustainability initiatives, etc. This mix varies depending on the specific channel and consumer niche that the firm is targeting. But this book shows how channel strategy also influences the effectiveness in utilizing the marketing mix to attract potential customers.

This book examines issues and implications of digital and social media marketing for emerging markets. These markets necessitate substantial adaptations of developed theories and approaches employed in the Western world. The book investigates problems specific to emerging markets, while identifying new theoretical constructs and practical applications of digital marketing. It addresses topics such as electronic word of mouth (eWOM), demographic differences in digital marketing, mobile marketing, search engine advertising, among others. A radical increase in both temporal and geographical reach is empowering consumers to exert influence on brands, products, and services. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and digital media are having a significant impact on the way people communicate and fulfil their socio-economic, emotional and material needs. These technologies are also being harnessed by businesses for various purposes including distribution and selling of goods, retailing of consumer services, customer relationship management, and influencing consumer behaviour by employing digital marketing practices. This book considers this, as it examines the practice and research related to digital and social media marketing.

Inhaltsangabe:Introduction: In the current time, there is no area in life that is not subject to change. Even within the distribution, changes have taken place in the course of the years. One significant factor of change in the distribution is the introduction of multiple distribution channels the multi-channel management. The term multi-channel is not new, but for all that it has gained of importance for companies. This statement is valid for companies in the national as well as in the international fields. It has, more or less, substituted the meaning of a single-channel distribution, which was more practiced in the past. Multi-channel management has become a significant issue when coming to the distribution of goods and the market development. Thereby, factors such as the attitude of the competition, the internal development of the company and especially the consumer behavior have determined the enhancement of its importance. Moreover, the development of information and communication technology has led to the introduction of new distribution channels, as e.g. the internet, next to the traditional channels which are the mail order business or the stationary distribution channels among others. The demand for companies offering different purchasing ways respectively channels has been increasing. The reason for this development is the fact that consumers have recognized the variety of ways they are able to choose in order to acquire a product. This involves that consumers set high value on the distribution channels offered by the companies. The increased consumer demand cannot be only noticed in Germany but also in the international context. As a consequence companies have been forced to modify their distribution strategies in order to be able to fulfill the consumer needs and thus assuring the customer retention further on. But the multi-channel distribution is not only a necessity. On the other hand it is linked with additional possibilities for companies. For instance, they can achieve cost advantages such as the increase of the total revenue. The management of parallel running channels is not as easy as one might think and in addition, a multi-channel management bears some risks. These two aspects lead to the necessity that the companies have to be engaged in the involvement of distribution channels, in the arrangement of the channel mix as well as in the coordination of the multi-channel system. It always has to be stressed that the [...]

The world of retailing has changed dramatically in the past decade. Sales originating at online channels have been steadily increasing, and even for sales transacted at brick-and-mortar channels, a much larger fraction of sales is affected by online channels in different touch points during the customer journey. Shopper behavior and expectations have been evolving along with the growth of digital channels, challenging retailers to redesign their fulfillment and execution processes, to better serve their customers. This edited book examines the challenges and opportunities arising from the shift towards omni- channel retail. We examine these issues through the lenses of operations management, emphasizing the supply chain transformations associated with fulfilling an omni-channel demand. The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, “Omni-channel business models”, we present four studies that explore how retailers are adjusting their fundamental business models to the new omni-channel landscape. The second part, “Data-driven decisions in an omni-channel world”, includes five chapters that study the evolving data opportunities enabled by omni-channel retail and present specific examples of data-driven analyses. Finally, in the third part, “Case studies in Omni-channel retailing”, we include four studies that provide a deep dive into how specific industries, companies and markets are navigating the omni-channel world. Ultimately, this book introduces the reader to the fundamentals of operations in an omni-channel context and highlights the different innovative research ideas on the topic using a variety of methodologies.

Presents an overview of and draws conclusions from extant studies related to multichannel retailing. Academic interest in this topic has increased dramatically. Thus, an updated understanding of how retailers and consumers influence and interact with each other in multichannel retail contexts is required.

The Price Advantage by three preeminent experts at McKinsey & Company is the most pragmatic and insightful book on pricing available. Based on in-depth, first-hand experience with hundreds of companies, this book is designed to provide managers with comprehensive guidance through the maze of pricing issues. The authors demonstrate why pricing excellence is critical to corporate success and profitability, then explain state-of-the-art approaches to analyzing and improving your own pricing strategy for any product or service. Their advice is critical for readers who need to develop pricing strategies that work in both good economic times and bad.