With the world growing increasingly competitive, it’s very important that B2C Companies have a strong distribution strategy in place. Distribution channels are required for the placement of goods & services in the marketplace and therefore setting up effective distribution channels can help in reaching out to the right target audience and in increasing the revenue. You can distribute your products or services through a variety of channels; through the Wholesalers, Concessioners or directly to the end users. However, forming channel partnerships is a great way to grow your business with specialised partners bringing in more business through better access to customers. Building a strong partner ecosystem is a prerequisite for a business to accelerate growth, increase brand awareness and establish a presence in new geographies.

1. Setting Up Distribution Networks & Channel Partnerships
With the world growing increasingly competitive, it’s very important that B2C Companies have a
strong distribution strategy in place. Distribution channels are required for the placement of
goods & services in the marketplace and therefore setting up effective distribution channels can
help in reaching out to the right target audience and in increasing the revenue. You can
distribute your products or services through a variety of channels; through the Wholesalers,
Concessioners or directly to the end users. However, forming channel partnerships is a great
way to grow your business with specialised partners bringing in more business through better
access to customers. Building a strong partner ecosystem is a prerequisite for a business to
accelerate growth, increase brand awareness and establish a presence in new geographies.
Here are some steps to follow to set up a strong distribution network and mutually beneficial
channel partnerships.
Identify Proper Channels
Depending upon the industry you operate in, the distribution strength or width & depth of
network varies. Your channel should be able to reach out to the intended customers at as many
purchase points or geographies, as possible. Analyse your business and find out whether your
existing channels are good enough or if you need to set up a new distribution channel to reach
out to the end customer, whenever they might be.
Know Your Customers
As you grow your organisation and services, reach out to the right customers. This means
knowing your customers’ needs & motivations before establishing a distribution network.
Customers should not have to travel far to inspect products or make purchases. Most
companies build networks to reach out to customers instead of waiting for them to come to
limited purchase points. An outlet near the customer’s place of residence or workplace makes it
far more convenient to get a feel of the offering.
Catering to Convenience
Convenience is a major factor for driving the development of distribution networks. We are no
more in a supplier’s market. Today, we are in a buyer’s market and enterprises have to provide
consumers with several options. Choice need not be limited to the product range. It could also
include how a customer can interact with the product or financing options. The business must
have the financial capacity to stock & display the products with wide availability of materials.
Doing this would require a deep understanding of the consumers and investment from the
partners to develop suitable networks.
Know Your Partners
You must first have an idea about the channel partner you are looking for. Your ideal partner
should be able to promote the entire bouquet of services offered by the manufacturer and cover
the spectrum of the business. If a product requires after sales service, the partner should be
able to provide that service to the customers and collect customer feedback; passing on product

2. improvement suggestions to the supplier. Knowing the people who work with a partner is
valuable too as a good management hierarchy within the channel partner’s organisation results
in the smooth running of the business.
Identifying Ideal Partners
Setting up a channel requires technical expertise, a good understanding of the market and
selection of the right partner. The channel partners should be familiar with the product or service
so that they know what they are selling.
The industry perspective is an important point of consideration when selecting a channel
partner. Other points of consideration are financial capability, prior business experience,
experience in dealing with target customers, the formal structure of human capital, management
capability and technical knowledge. A channel partner should ideally have a success story or
proven capability in handling a similar scale of business. Most companies know the investment
required to carry out the business and the right channel partners either bring the required
monetary arrangement or are capable of arranging it from market resources.
Your channel partner will play a vital role in customer satisfaction and therefore they should also
have a proven track record for customer service. Low on the list of priorities is physical space
and a preferred physical location since both can be acquired from the outside.
Inspire Loyalty
While earning profits and generating revenue are the prime motivations in business, there is
more to a mutually beneficial relationship. Enterprises invest a lot of time & money into
developing channel partners by providing training in business management and sales process
relevant to the industry. It is a continuous process with long-term relationships and compatibility
with your partners, going hand-in-hand. It’s essential to educate the channel partners about how
you can address their business needs, build the value of the brand, the benefits that partners
can expect from you and your commitment to their success.
Approach to Channel Partner Strategy
Define the overall organisational goal, the target customer you are focusing on and the product
positioning. Identify the geography, your target customers are available in and marketing
strategies to reach out to them. Look at the service that the channel partner can provide and
what the customers are looking for. If there are any deficiencies in the offering, find out what can
be done to fix it. Understand what matters to your channel partners and set up clear and
measurable goals, defining success criteria and how each side will collaborate, contribute and
communicate.
Reinvesting for Success
Channel partners must be motivated to reinvest a good amount of their profits in the same
business to attain long-lasting success. Each company targets a particular growth plan which
requires a clearly defined path for the future. Growth would require fresh capital from the
channel partners themselves or investment from businesses to continue growing.

3. Arrival of the Digital Ecosystem
Adoption of the digital ecosystem helps reduce investment in certain areas. We can reach out to
customers much faster using the digital route. As the buying journey is also turning digital,
enterprises are offering a variety of products & services through digital channels. The flip side is
that though highly focused, this marketing approach doesn’t provide for physical touch & feel of
the product to the customers. Higher value items would still require physical places of
distribution, while customers can still be approached and served online, substantially reducing
the turnaround time. Where product differentiation is minimal, digital marketing gives huge
leeway to marketers while reducing the number of business partners. As companies look to
adapt their businesses to technological changes and shift focus, it becomes very important to
create new partnerships and win over your partner’s loyalty by making them a partner in digital
ecosystem also to mutually accomplish the business goals.
New Channel Strategies
It’s a time of change. Market conditions, products & technology are transforming rapidly. Despite
these changes, people would still like to touch & feel certain products, making it necessary for
channels to maintain brick & mortar stores for a considerable period of time. Channel strategies
will eventually change and business enterprises and their channel partners will look beyond
conventional methods to digital marketing and reaching out to customers in newer, more
innovative ways. It might not be easy but adapting to these changes are for the best as they will
complement your business, not replace it.