Getting Distribution

Most adver­tis­ers are con­fronted with the prob­lem of get­ting dis­tri­b­u­tion. National adver­tis­ing is unthink­able with­out that. A ven­ture can­not be prof­itable if nine in ten of the con­verts fail to find the goods.

To force deal­ers to stock by bring­ing repeated demands may be enor­mously expen­sive. To cover the coun­try with a sell­ing force is usu­ally impos­si­ble. To get deal­ers to stock an unknown line on promise of adver­tis­ing is not easy. They have seen too many efforts fail, too many promises rescinded.

We can­not dis­cuss all plans for get­ting dis­tri­b­u­tion. There are scores of ways employed, accord­ing to the enter­prise. Some start by solic­it­ing direct sales — mail orders — until the vol­ume of demand forces deal­ers to supply.

Some get in touch with prospects by a sam­ple or other offer, then refer them to cer­tain deal­ers who are stocked.

Some well-​​known lines can get a large per­cent­age of deal­ers to stock in advance under guar­an­tee of sale. Some con­sign goods to job­bers so deal­ers can eas­ily order. Some name cer­tain deal­ers in their ads until deal­ers in gen­eral stock.

The prob­lems in this line are num­ber­less. The suc­cess­ful meth­ods are many. But most of them apply to lines too few to be wor­thy of dis­cus­sion in a book like this.

We shall deal here with arti­cles of wide appeal and repeated sales, like foods or pro­pri­etary articles.

We usu­ally start with local adver­tis­ing, even though mag­a­zine adver­tis­ing is best adapted to the arti­cle. We get our dis­tri­b­u­tion town by town, then change to national advertising.

Some­times we name the deal­ers who are stocked. As oth­ers stock, we add their names. When a local cam­paign is pro­posed, nam­ing cer­tain deal­ers, the aver­age dealer wants to be included. It is often pos­si­ble to get most of them by offer­ing to name them in the first few ads.

Whether you adver­tise few or many deal­ers, the oth­ers will stock in very short order if the adver­tis­ing is suc­cess­ful. Then the trade is referred to all dealers.

The sam­ple plans dealt with in the pre­vi­ous chap­ter aid quick dis­tri­b­u­tion. They often pay for them­selves in this way alone.

If the sam­ples are dis­trib­uted locally, the coupon names the store. The prospects who go there to get the sam­ples know that those stores are sup­plied, if a nearer dealer is not. Thus lit­tle trade is lost.

When sam­ple inquiries come to the adver­tiser, inquiries are referred to cer­tain deal­ers at the start. Enough demand is cen­tered there to force those deal­ers to sup­ply it.

Some­times most stores are sup­plied with sam­ples, but on the require­ment of a cer­tain pur­chase. You sup­ply a dozen sam­ples with a dozen pack­ages, for instance. Then inquiries for sam­ples are referred to all stores. This quickly forces gen­eral dis­tri­b­u­tion. Deal­ers don’t like to have their cus­tomers go to com­peti­tors even for a sample.

Where a coupon is used, good at any store for a full-​​size pack­age, the prob­lem of dis­tri­b­u­tion becomes sim­ple. Mail to deal­ers proofs of the ad which will con­tain a coupon. Point out to each that many of his cus­tomers are bound to present that coupon. Each coupon rep­re­sents a cash sale at full profit. No aver­age dealer will let those coupon cus­tomers go elsewhere.

Such a free-​​package offer often pays for itself in this way. It forms the cheap­est way of get­ting gen­eral distribution.

Some of the most suc­cess­ful adver­tis­ers have done this in a national way. They have inserted coupon ads in mag­a­zines, each coupon good at any store for a full-​​size pack­age. A proof of the ad is sent to deal­ers in advance, with a list of the mag­a­zines to be used, and their circulation.

In this way, in one week some­times, mak­ers attain a rea­son­able national dis­tri­b­u­tion. And the coupon ad, when it appears, com­pletes it. Here again the free pack­ages cost less than other ways of forc­ing dis­tri­b­u­tion. And they start thou­sands of users besides. Pal­mo­live Soap and Puffed Grains are among the prod­ucts which attain their dis­tri­b­u­tion in that way.

Half the cir­cu­la­tion of a news­pa­per may go to out­side towns. That half may be wasted if you offer a sam­ple at local stores. Say in your coupon that out­side peo­ple should write you for a sam­ple. When they write, do not mail the sam­ple. Send the sam­ples to a local store, and refer inquiries to that store. Mail­ing a sam­ple may make a con­vert who can­not be sup­plied. But the store which sup­plies the sam­ple will usu­ally sup­ply demand. In these ways, many adver­tis­ers get national dis­tri­b­u­tion with­out employ­ing a sin­gle sales­man. They get it imme­di­ately. And they get it at far lower cost than by any other method.

There are adver­tis­ers who, in start­ing, send every dealer a few pack­ages as a gift. That is bet­ter, per­haps, than los­ing cus­tomers cre­ated. But it is very expen­sive. Those free pack­ages must be sold by adver­tis­ing. Fig­ure their cost at your sell­ing price, and you will see that you are pay­ing a high cost per dealer. A sales­man might sell these small stocks at a lower cost. And other meth­ods might be vastly cheaper.

Send­ing stocks on con­sign­ment to retail­ers is not widely favored. Many deal­ers resent it. Col­lec­tions are dif­fi­cult. And non-​​businesslike meth­ods do not win dealer respect.

The plans advo­cated here are the best plans yet dis­cov­ered for the lines to which they apply. Other lines require dif­fer­ent meth­ods. The ram­i­fi­ca­tions are too many to dis­cuss in a book like this.

But don’t start adver­tis­ing with­out dis­tri­b­u­tion. Don’t get dis­tri­b­u­tion by meth­ods too expen­sive. Or by slow, old-​​fashioned meth­ods. The loss of time may cost you enor­mously in sales. And it may enable ener­getic rivals to get ahead of you.

Go to men who know by count­less expe­ri­ences the best plan to apply to your line.

About the Author

Last 5 Posts By Michel Fortin

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