Everything is marketing managing-the-chain

Dan Strongin, ManageNaturally.com’s Uncorporate Academy

Everything is Marketing Part Two: Managing the Chain of Distribution

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Why is Managing Distribution so Challenging?

And who better to help than Isaac Newton...

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Newton’s Laws

- First Law: Conservation of Energy, aka everything has a price.


Newton’s Laws

-Conservation of Energy -What you can’t change, redirect.

- Inertia: - It takes a lot of energy to get something going: only a little to keep it going

- But, a lot of energy to slow it down


- Branding is the art of building momentum,

- The Brand means nothing until your product/service is moving, then it means a lot

- But, trying to enter into a niche with well established brands, hoping to replace them is folly, unless you have the Disney levels of dough


Newton’s LawsConservation of Energy What you can’t change you can redirect.

Inertia Objects at rest tend to stay at rest, objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Entropy

It takes work to keep things from falling apart, Leave them alone at your own risk. To keep things organized and moving in the right direction is called Managing.


One Law Newton ForgotThe person who produces always has the least power

The person buying should, but doesn’t

It’s the middlemen that make the world go round


To gain power, the producer must figure out how to pull their product or service through the chain all the way to end user


How to manage the chain? The Choices

Option 1: Self Marketing

Option 2: Create a Network

Option 3: Hire a Marketing

Partner


Option 1: Self-Marketing

How most small to medium companies start: Diversified Time & Resource Commitment. Do everything yourself.

Start locally, then grow outward. Builds close relationship with clients Hard work, hard to maintain.


Option 2: Build a Network of Distributors

Interview and select distributors/affiliates in key markets. Share marketing approach with each distributor to insure consistent message then monitor. Create marketing materials for each distributor. Monitor performance of each distributor and communicate Work with Third Parties in far-flung regions


Option 3: Bring on a Marketing Partner

If your product has enough national or international potential only. Interview and select marketing partner. Negotiate partnership for Year One. Create strategic marketing plan with partner to insure consistent message. Upside: You get to focus on what you do best, making great product. But it costs!


Cost?

All three options have costs.

Remember Newton’s first law: “Everything has a Price!”

It depends on what you can afford or are willing to pay


an example, in this case, of artisan/specialty cheese...



You Have to Choose so go to where the end user gets and uses products like yours and find out how they like to get it, and make it that way from manufacture to pricing to delivery. It is called pulling the product through the

chain of distribution.

Business

Everything is marketing managing-the-chain