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Greetings!
This issue kicks off a special four-part series on
choosing the right distribution channel for your
product. Choosing the wrong distribution channel
can be the ruin of your product, so you must
consider what channel will work the best with your
product.
We also have a short article on branding and
selling, another great article by the Packaging Diva
and an inventor story about Al Youngwerth. Enjoy!
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Which Distribution Channel is Your Product Best Suited For -- Part 1
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Consumer Awareness
In this four-part series, we will discuss how to
choose the best distribution channel for your
product. Usually, your product limits your
realistic choices for a path to market and you must
learn the strengths and weaknesses of your product
to choose which distribution channel will give you
the best chances of success.
In this first part, we will cover how well customers
understand the need that your product addresses.
For instance, if your product is shovel that is
easier on your back, then we will ask, do customers
know they need a shovel that is easier on their
backs, and then if they do, will they actively
search for it. The answers to those questions will
tell you which distribution channels offer you a
chance to succeed in. The answers will not tell you
if your product will succeed or not, because a
product can succeed even if no one knows they need a
product like yours.
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Inventor Story: Al Youngwerth
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Al Youngwerth, an amateur off-road motorcyclist,
purchased an aftermarket automatic clutch for his
bike, but every time he rode, it broke and after
repairing it a number of times, he realized it was
designed wrong.
After he came up with his own design, and filed for
a patent, he quit his job and started his own
company: Rekluse Motor Sports.
He knew he would face major resistance from the
professional biking industry because automatic
clutches were considered for beginners or girls.
But Youngwerth worked out a plan to overcome this
obstacle.
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Note on Branding Vs. Selling
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You might hear people talking about "Branding Vs.
Selling" and wonder that is. Marketers have long
argued about which is better: spending your
marketing dollars on creating a brand name image for
your product and product line or to spend your money
on selling a particular product.
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Marketing Showdown: Mainstream Methods 0 ? Packaging 10
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by JoAnn Hines Packaging Diva
Mainstream marketing and advertising is dying.
That's the cue for packaging to step up to the plate
and take its rightful place as a powerful product
marketing and branding tool. "Ad Age" recently
reported that a newly released book reports that 37%
of all advertising is wasted. Quite frankly, I
agree. I have been studying this issue for a while
and examining advertising/marketing messages
(especially on packaging) and it is apparent that
the new generation of advertising is weak.
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