Having the right Route to Market approach is a critical element
for success in all businesses, large and small. Yet many companies have never
systematically assessed the options and choices for getting their products or
services into the hands of consumers and most of those that have do not review
their approach on a regular basis. As the market place in most industries is
highly dynamic, we believe that this needs to be done at least every two years.
Our approach to helping clients to review and recalibrate their
Route to Market starts with an external perspective, looking at the market in
which they do and/or could compete, before turning the spotlight onto the
internal view, looking at the company and its capabilities. It is important to
begin with the external picture (particularly of consumer trends and customer
developments) but this is a step many companies fail to take. This can lead to
missed opportunities as the consequence of taking a largely “internal” view is
often to define the options in terms of the company’s own limited perspective.
The first output of a RTM review should be a Channel Strategy
which identifies the priority areas of focus for the company. Once the Channel
Strategy is decided, the next step is to look at all possible Route to Market options
which can deliver the strategy. Is an in-house or outsourced Sales function
better? If the latter, how many third party partners is the optimal number and
how should territories be demarcated? What is the role of wholesalers and
sub-distributors if any? This analysis will eventually identify a preferred
option.
The choice of RTM at the Sales/Commercial level will require the
company to review its Supply Logistics approach and determine if the present
system is the best to deliver the plans (in our experience it rarely is!) For
most companies the main focus of an RTM review is on driving
