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Developing a Route to Market

Planning a route to market may be compared to planning a vacation which you will spend visiting regions that interest you by car. You will plan which places you would like to see, which roads you will travel (highways or back roads), how much it will cost you. During the ride, every now and then you will consult the map to see whether you are on the right road, or the map will help you find an alternative route if road works are slowing you down.

The situation is similar in planning a route to market for your products. You need to know where you would like to market your products, who your target customers are, how to reach them. On this basis the optimum marketing method is chosen. But this route to market needs to be re-analyzed from time to time, checking whether some important parameters might have changed, which would require appropriate modifications.

The route to market represents an active management of sales channels (direct and/or indirect) for the purpose of achieving an efficient distribution of your products to customers. The route to market includes the forging, choice, development and continuous advancement of these channels in order to raise sales while at the same time optimizing costs. An ideal route to market and its active management gives companies a strategic advantage over the competition.

Only a strong, reactive and flexible route to market allows you to keep the promises made to your customers regarding your brand and to differentiate your product and service clearly from your competition.

Since new markets are opening up continuously, and throughout Europe laws regarding the protection of the market competition are becoming increasingly liberal, the choice of the right route to market is becoming ever more complicated, being subject to constant change.

The task of choosing an optimum route to market (direct sales, distributor, agent working for a

commission fee) requires from the company's employee a great amount of time, effort, travel (accompanied by possible linguistic barriers), with no guarantee that the choice will be optimal. Many companies thus increasingly hire specialists.

For a start, to develop an optimal route to market it is necessary to:

  • have insight into the current position and strategy of the company and its brands on the target market
  • know all segments of the customers and their specificities
  • have an understanding of all available sales and distribution channels and their specificities
  • perceive future trends on the market (customer segments, channels, etc.)
  • know the advantages/differences of the own brands in regard to every customer segment.

It is easier and better to develop a plan from scratch than to correct results of a bad plan. Thus, every possible sales channel is analyzed in detail, with all its advantages and faults, in order to work out the optimum route to market based on these analyses.

After the decision is made and the route to market chosen, it is essential to actively manage its channels. If you chose indirect sales via a distributor, you must be aware that you have entrusted your brand to someone else and given it to him to use. It is very important that the distributor have:

  • highly professional staff which will care for and look after your brand
  • a clear vision and strategy of the development of the company
  • efficient sales management (an experienced sales leader)
  • professional salespersons which know your products and its comparative advantages and differences over the competition.

One should always keep in mind: markets are changing, customers are changing, technology is advancing. All of this carries new possibilities, but also risks. The best route to market today, need not be best tomorrow.

 

Do You Need a Business Consultant or an Interim Manager?

If you require help analyzing the state of your business or developing a business strategy, you need a consultant. If, in turn, you are looking for help with the implementation of the strategic measures you have defined, an interim manager will be your best choice.

An interim manager can at the same time be a consultant, but a consultant is, usually, not an interim manager, because he does not engage in the implementation of the solutions he proposes.

The diagram above clarifies the division of roles of a business consultant, an interim manager and a director-employee.

The difference between a consultant and an interim manager thus lies in the fact that a consultant advises and recommends, remaining responsible to his own company. An interim manager implements the agreed measures, being directly and exclusively responsible to his client.

There are, however, persons, who due to their rich business experience, can at the same time function as business consultants and interim managers.