MARKETING CHANNELS
A marketing channel is a set of practices or activities necessary to transfer the ownership of goods, and to move goods, from the point of production to the point of consumption and, as such, which consists of all the institutions and all the marketing activities in the marketing process. A marketing channel is a useful tool for management.
An alternative term is distribution channel or 'route-to-market'. It is a 'path' or 'pipeline' through which goods and services flow in one direction (from vendor to the consumer), and the payments generated by them flow in the opposite direction (from consumer to the vendor). A marketing channel can be as short as being direct from the vendor to the consumer or may include several inter-connected (usually independent but mutually dependent) intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors, agents, retailers. Each intermediary receives the item at one pricing point and moves it to the next higher pricing point until it reaches the final buyer
Roles of marketing channel in marketing strategies
-Links producers to buyers.
-Performs sales, advertising and promotion.
-Influences the firm's pricing strategy.
-Affecting product strategy through branding, policies, willingness to stock.
-Customizes profits, install, maintain, offer credit, etc.
Coordinated Channel Marketing - Brands carry out online and offline advertising on behalf of channel partners to aid them in generating sales of their branded products. Those online and offline marketing initiatives are can either be isolated or coordinated to inform one another.
There are basically four types of marketing channels:
•Direct selling;
•Selling through intermediaries;
•Dual distribution; and
•Reverse channels.

Direct Selling
Direct selling is a type of sales channel where products are marketed directly to customers, eliminating the need for