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Promotional Help
– Resellers often seek additional help from the 
product supplier to promote the product to customers. Such help 
may come in the form of funding for advertisements, point-of-
purchase product materials, or in-store demonstrations.
We will continue our discussion of distribution decision in the next 
tutorial as we discuss in greater detail the reseller network – retailers and 
wholesalers - and the processes involved in physically handling product 
flow through the channel.
A good distribution strategy takes into account not only marketing 
decisions, but also considers how relationships within the channel of 
distribution can impact the marketer’s product. In this section we examine 
three such issues:
Channel Power
A channel can be made up of many parties each adding value to the 
product purchased by customers. However, some parties within the chan-
nel may carry greater weight than others. In marketing terms this is called 
channel power, which refers to the influence one party within a channel 
has over other channel members. 
When power is exerted by a channel member they are often in the 
position to make demands of others. For instance, they may demand bet-
ter financial terms (e.g., will only buy if prices are lowered, will only sell if 
price is higher) or demand other members perform certain tasks (e.g., do 
more marketing to customers, perform more product services). Channel 
power can be seen in several ways:
➢
Backend or Product Power
– Occurs when a product manufacturer 
or service provider markets a brand that has a high level of customer 
demand. The marketer of the brand is often in a power position 

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since other channel members have little choice but to carry the 
brand or risk losing customers. 
➢