Online retailing or E-tailing (Electronic retailing) or direct marketing are now gaining in tremendous awareness by the businesses and the customers at large. This concept is normally termed as a B2C (business to consumer) transaction. There have been many categories or channels, which corporate adopt in order to distribute and reach its target customers.
But involving and interfering with channels of a company having a multi-channel distribution system poses a great challenge. Online marketing could be done in several categories. The prominent of which are ? pure click – where in the firms sell their total products on the web based domain space or the virtual space. ? Click and Brick – They are the business which use both online and offline channel structure.
Brick and Mortar – firms, which sell their entire product, line by using a physical space system. Each of these channels have their respective advantages and disadvantages, but the firm should be wise and conscious about the different channel system they are adopting as there are chances of conflicts which could arise with reference to tapping the same customer base or the same territory or having goal incompatibility.
In the case mentioned, if was given a chance to be in-charge of a direct marketing system, there would be certain strategies, which I would implement, in-order to stabilize and maintain a good relation with all the other channel partners. Since there are greater chances of having conflicts between the online and offline retailers, to gain acceptance from intermediaries I would pacify or satisfy my channel partners by test marketing the following strategies and tactics.
First – offer a different mix of product line or different brands on the web based system than their offline channel partners or retail partners. Second – provide better and higher discounts and commissions for its retail partner to improve the negative impact on sales and to increase the profits. Third – Allow the customers to register their orders on the online system, but appoint retailers to deliver and collect payment where in the retailers are also cushioning on a ready-made customer base.
Fourth – Give a choice to the customers if they require a work on their purchase with a financial advisor, if yes their information will be routed to an advisor. Fifth – each of the retail partners could have their own website to avoid competition of the company’s web based system. Sixth – the customers who purchase online could be allowed to accept the online coupons and redeem their amount in its stores. These are some of the ways by which I will convince my retail partners for the launch of the direct marketing campaign.