The Reconfiguration of the indirect marketing channel: The SMEs’ perspective

Frame of the research: The global health emergency has accelerated digital transformation process of SMEs that led to the reconfiguration of marketing channels. Firms had to focus on management of the variety of online/offline channels, direct/indirect, to optimize customers’ relationship, balancing integration (multi/cross-channels perspective) and coordination (omnichannel perspective). Digital channel can play an important role in a long-term perspective. Objectives: The research aims to explore digital innovation and its impact on marketing channels, investigating how Italian SMEs have reconfigured the indirect marketing channel in light of digital innovation. Methodology: An explorative approach is adopted. The research process was divided in two steps: collection of information coming from key informants about the research topic and exploration of an emblematic case study for obtaining deeper analysis. Findings: The results show potentialities of digital channels to improve SMEs customer orientation. Digital innovation has an impact on indirect channel, traditionally related to retailers and wholesalers, and it has led to the emergence of marketplaces, reconfiguring the indirect marketing channel. Among digital organizations, a new actor emerged –Digital Sales Enabler- who provides specific support in terms of new activities and services to respond to changes in business environment. Practical implications: This research presents advantages and critical points discovered by SMEs in their process of channels digitalization. The Digital Sales Enabler is a fundamental actor to support companies’ customer relationships, market positioning and sales management process. Limitations: Even if the study creates the basis for subsequent studies, it can benefit from the integration of other case studies analysing same typology of Digital Sales Enabler or identifying other actors in a network perspective. Originality: The results of the study implement and enrich the literature on the reconfiguration of marketing channels and provide important insights for Italian SMEs on the role and function of new digital actors.