Importance of Middlemen in Marketing
Middlemen are very important in many ways, especially in marketing activities. It may not be economic for a producer to deal directly with ultimate consumers. For instance, how convenient will it be if there are no retail middlemen such as hawkers, supermarkets, retail stores, vendors, and so on?
This affirms the saying that “you can eliminate the middlemen, but you cannot eliminate their functions (activities)”. Someone has to perform these activities-if not the middlemen, then the producers or the final customers. Therefore, the importance of middlemen is as discussed below:
1) Middlemen serve as purchasing agents for consumers, and sale specialists for suppliers.
2) Middlemen, frequently, provide financial services to suppliers and consumers.
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3) The storage service of middlemen, their bulk-breaking activities (dividing large shipments into smaller quantities for sale), and the market information they provide are of benefit to suppliers and customers alike.
4) They provide the economies of balanced inventories – the use of middlemen, allows for ‘one-stop buying.
A consumer can go to one retailer’s store and purchase all the items/goods needed, rather than visiting separate producers of these goods before purchasing them.
5) They provide the economies of partial and temporal conveniences – middlemen create space and time utilities for consumers.
They are often located within or very close to the buyers, so buyers purchase goods needed at their convenience.
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