【正文】 anding can differentiate modities(Sunkistoranges,Mortonsalt,andDominosugar,forexample). PricingPricingisadynamicprocess,Companiesdesignapricingstructurethatcoversalltheirchangethisstructureovertimeandadjustittoaccountfordifferentcustomersandsituations. Pricingstrategiesusuallychangeasaproductpassesthroughitslifefaceimportantchoicewhentheyselectnewproductpricingpanycandecideononeofseveralpricequalitystrategiesforintroducinganimitativepricinginnovativeproducts,itcanpracticemarketskimmingpricingbyinitiallysettinghighpricestoskimthemaximumamountofrevenuefromvarioussegmentsoftheitcanusemarketpenetrationpricingbysettingalowinitialpricetowinalargemarketshare. Companiesapplyavarietyofpriceadjustmentstrategiestoaccountfordifferencesinconsumersegmentsandisdiscountandallowancepricing,wherebythepanydecidesonquantity,functional,orseasonaldiscounts,orvaryingtypesofallowances.Asecondstrategyissegmentedpricing,wherethepanysellersaproductattwoormorepricestoallowfordifferencesincustomers,products,orlocations.Sometimespaniesconsidermorethaneconomicsintheirpricingdecisions,andusepsychologicalpricingtomunicateabouttheproduct39。squalityorpromotionalpricing,paniestemporarilyselltheirproductbellowlistpriceasaspecialeventtodrawmorecustomers,sometimesevensellingbelowvaluepricing,thepanyoffersjustthenightbinationofqualityandgoodserviceatafairprice.Anotherapproachisgeographicalpricing,wherebythepanydecideshowtopricedistantcustomers,choosingfromalternativeasFOBpricing,uniformdeliveredpricing,zonepricing,basingpointpricing,andfreightabsorptionpricing.Finally,internationalpricingmeansthatthepanyadjustsitspricetomeetdifferentworldmarkets. DistributionChannelsMostproducersuseintermediariestobringtheirproductstotrytoforgeadistributionchannel—asetofinterdependentorganizationsinvolvedintheprocessofmarkingaproductorserviceavailableforuseorconsumptionbytheconsumersorbusinessuser. Whydoproducersgivesomeofthesellingjobtointermediaries?Afterall,doingsomeansgivingupsomecontroloverhowandtowhomtheproductsareuseofintermediariesresultsfromtheirgreaterefficiencyinmarkinggoodsavailabletotargettheircontacts,experience,specialization,andscalesofoperation,intermediariesusuallyofferthefirmmovevaluethanitcanachieveonitsownefforts. Adistributionchannelmovesgoodsfromproducerstooveresthemajortime,place,andpossessiongapsthatseparategoodsandservicesfromthosewhowouldusethem.Membersofthemarketingchannelperformmanyfunctions.Somehelptopletetransactions: .. :findingandmunicatingwithprospectivebuyers. :fittingtheoffertothebuyer39。sneeds,includingsuchactivitiesasmanufacturingandpackaging. :reachinganagreementonpriceandothertermsoftheoffersothatownershiporpossessioncanbehelptofulfillthepletedtransferred. andstoringgoods.. taking:assumingtheriskofcarryingoutthechannelquestionisnotwhetherthesefunctionsneedtobeperformed,butratherwhoistoperformthem.Allthefunctionshavethreethingsinmon:Theyuseupscarceresource,theyoftencanbeperformedbetterthroughspecialization,andtheycanbeshiftedamongchanneltheextentthatthemanufacturerperformsthesefunctions,itscostsgoupanditspriceshavetobehigher.Atthesametime,whensomeofthesefunctionsareshiftedtointermediaries,theproducer39。scostsandpricesmaybelower,buttheintermediariesmustchargemoretocoverthecostsoftheirwork.Individingtheworkofthechannel,thevariousfunctionsshouldbeassignedtothechannelmemberswhocanperformthemmostefficientlyandeffectivelytoprovidesatisfactoryassortmentsofgoodstotargetconsumers.Distributionchannelscanbedescribedbythenumberofchannellevelsinvolved.Eachlayerofmarketingintermediariesthatperformssomeworkinbriningtheproductanditsownershipclosertothefinalbuyerisachannellevel.Becausetheproducerandthefinalconsumerbothperformsomework,theyarepartofeverychannel. Whenselectingintermediaries,thepanyshoulddeterminewhatcharacteristicsdistinguishthebetterones.Itwillwanttoevaluatethethechannelmember39。syearsinbusiness,otherlinescarried,growthandprofitrecord,cooperativeness,andreputation.Iftheintermediariesaresalesagents,thepanywillwanttoevaluatethenumberandcharacteroftheotherlinescarried,andthesizeandqualityofthesalesforce.Iftheintermediaryisaretailstorethatwantsexclusive16