Step 4 in Developing a Marketing Plan, How will the Novel be Distributed

Distributing The Novel

How will the novel be distributed? There are many ways to distribute novels: through the mail, through a website, through a retailer, or a manufacturer. For a manufacturer, the novel goes from being produced to the consumer. No middle company to add more cost to the novel. If it goes through a retailer, the novel comes from the manufacturer, to the retailer, then to the consumer. The retailer is the middle company and they will add a percentage to the cost to come up with the price which causes the price to be higher. Through the mail and a website can be handled by the author, so there is only the shipping cost to add to the novel.

Questions about Distribution for the Marketing Plan

Answer the following questions to complete the distribution section of the marketing plan.
What is the cost of shipping the novel?
How long will the chosen shipper take for products to arrive to the customer?
How will the novel be packaged for shipping and display?
What kind of inventory is needed to ensure the product is available?
 

Transacting The Product

In this section of the marketing plan, how the purchase price of the novel is going to be collected and what system to track shipping and purchasing is going to be used should be described. Answer these questions to help with the Transacting Section of the Marketing Plan.
How will the payment from customers be tracked?
What kinds of methods of payments can the customer use?
What is the return policy and the warranty on the novel if any?
Answering these questions, concludes the distribution section of the marketing plan.

Exercise

Start a marketing plan for the novel by answering the above questions, and looking into the other articles in this section to complete a marketing plan.