9 - How different marketing channels finance consumption and what are the risks involved?

10 - What are the opportunities and possible benchmarks in using web/digital sales platforms?

11 - How are the marketing channels of the competition structured?

12 - How are the flows of products performed by the participants in the channel?

13 - How is the flow of information coming from the consumer towards the company in each of the channels?

14 - How is the financial flow from channels to company and how to improve it?

15 - Which creative ideas in a network concept could re-shape distribution?

16 - Which loyalty programs exist and what benchmarks could be used in this field?

17 - What can be done with competitors towards marketing channels?

18 - What can be done with other companies that are not competitors and operate in the same marketing channels?

19 - How will marketing channels of this industry look like in 20 years?

20 – How to organize all these ideas and analysis in a project basis to make the company more competitive?

These 20 questions are the ones we use in the situations where a marketing channels plan should be built. Some of them are related to an audit and others to offer space for creative ideas to improve the performance on channels. Outstanding performance in marketing channels is a source of competitive advantage and hope I these 20 questions may help your organization to improve this important part of the business.

The author is professor of strategic planning and food chains at the School of Economics and Business, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil (www.favaneves.org) and international speaker. Author of 25 books published in 8 countries and in China, “The World on the Tongue”.