Channel Differentiation

Companies tan achieve compctilivc advantage through the way they design their distribution channels' coi/erngp, expertise: and performance. Caterpillar's success Irt the eon si ruction-equipment industry is based partly on superior channel development. Its dealers are found in more locations than competitors' dealers, and they are typically better trained and perform more reliably. Dell in computers and Avon tn Cosmetics distinguish themselves by developing and managing high-quality direct-marketing channels, Hack in 1946, pel foot! was cheap, inn too nutritious, ;md sold exclusively in supermarkets and the occasional feed store: Dayton, Ohio-based lams found success selling premium pel food through regional veterinarians, breeders, Eind pet stores.

Apollo Group Inc.. has turned conventional higher education on its head by launching an online university geared toward the nEglested marta! a! wcrking adulls. University of Phoenix Online- is one of Apollo's most successful ventures, with 50,000 students, and in the past year WOP'S enrollment surged by 70 percent. In addition to dil-ferentiating based on delivering education through a different channel—online classes—Apollo charges only ■ Slo.DDQ tor yearly lull on, 55 percenl of what a typical private college charges,w

Continue reading here: Image Differentiation

Was this article helpful?