Marketing companies exist to help you research and identify markets, research and understand competitors, build a plan for reaching consumers, building a strong value offer for customers, create brands, identify branding assets, design web sites and product packaging, establish and manage distribution channels, utilize marketing information systems, and design and manage advertising campaigns.

There was a time where a traditional marketing agency would handle every facet of a company's marketing communications activities. From planning to implementation, they would be the middleman to make it all happen with outside vendors and publishers.

Today, most marketing companies specialize in these specific roles. While the complexity of marketing communications today requires technical and creative expertise, these often small agencies can't quite put together an integrated marketing campaign. Marketing success today comes from establishing new markets, increasing sales, and maintaining customer loyalty.

The big shift from traditional marketing systems to the increasing use of Internet marketing is making business very difficult for small to medium-sized manufacturers who want to cut costs and handle their own distribution and promotion. There are providers of various channel services out there but there's too many for a small company to manage. It's understandable to try to do it yourself, however major players in the marketing industry, particularly large manufacturers that have opened their own stores along with major retailers favoring their own brands, are pushing small players aside. Major players have the distribution systems and sales information systems to make their marketing campaigns work smoothly and effectively. That efficacy simply drowns out smaller players trying to get retailer's attention. They know what's working and what isn't right away and can respond quickly.

Marketing fulfillment is the process of delivering marketing materials through marketing distribution channels, along with providing sales training, and communicating with channel members to ensure the complete marketing campaign is carried out on time. Without this integration of marketing and promotional materials, and the coordinated timing of their delivery to retail and wholesale locations, the retail advertising campaign won't achieve the results desired.

Retail marketing in particular is very competitive and each player or member in the marketing channel expects the best benefit they can extract from manufacturers and distributors. If a manufacturer or distributor can't deliver the right payment or assistance, their products won't be promoted by retailers as well. Without this paid empowerment of the marketing channel, the manufacturer's goods may be ignored. Their marketing materials may be left in boxes and sales people will fail to deliver the appropriate information about their products to consumers. Communications is critical and must come from the manufacturer or value added distributor. Communications not supported throughout each stage of the channel will inevitably fail.

So in the realm of fulfilment marketing, it is the marketing company that can deliver all on all aspects of their advertising promotions from premiums and incentives right through to post sales support, will meet with success. It isn't just a matter of greasing the channel with big money payments. Money can disappear fast without any benefit delivered. Channel members, particularly distributors and retailers must listen and fulfill their promotional agreements. They can't always be left to do this on their own and there's a need for clear leadership in this area.

Marketing channels today are shorter than they used to be, but they're more complex. Even with online and electronic payment systems, marketing materials have to be created and distributed through larger distances and overcome stronger distribution barriers. Retail store networks for instance, may encompass many countries and each country will have its own physical distribution issues, language issues, and customs. Promotional products and incentives will need to be developed for specific geographical areas, different branding strategies will be needed, and even product packaging requirements will be different.

A Position of Strength

If you're a marketing manager of a small to medium manufacturer and you're currently distributing your products and promotional products through the same channels and you're expecting your distributors to do your marketing for you, you probably know how ineffective it is. Things won't get better. There's no way to control such distant channel members and gain their continued cooperation. Competitors will be sure to analyze your distribution strategy and systems and find a way to crowd you out. By taking up your channel member's time and energy, they can draw them away from doing a good job of promoting your products and brands.

The solution is to hire a promotional marketing company that has complete systems in place for designing your promotional campaigns and managing distribution and communications. These companies have strengths, capabilities and networks of distribution partners that can open up markets to your products. If new markets are not what you're looking for, they can help better integrate your marketing efforts. That might be in the form of integrating and synthesizing traditional and new electronic promotions, or it may in the coordinated and timed distribution of your marketing materials from strategically placed warehouses. Their expertise in advertising promotions and after sales support can take your marketing to a new level of capability.

Expanding to new markets may scare you. One of the biggest impediments to growth in markets is marketing distribution. Effective marketers have this down pat and that integrated effort can eliminate regional brands trying to get a hold in new markets. They can shift resources at just the right time to make your promotions ineffective. If you're coming from a weak distribution position, they can easily take advantage of it.

What you'll need is a powerful ally to help you integrate your promotional marketing campaigns.