4.2. Marketing Skills
Companies implementing a DS are generally strong in marketing,
which means having broad skills and capabilities in this area, knowing
the customer, having a wider range of products and services, striving
for their quality recognition and developing important skills and effective
distribution systems. This dimension consists of five components:
general marketing skills, market intelligence, product line, certifications,
and distribution skills. Price was excluded from this dimension
as it is the variablewe have chosen to identify companies implementing
a DS (Porter, 1980, 1985). Results indicate that general marketing skills
are high, very high or excellent for 73% of DS firms as opposed to only
48% for NODS. Market intelligence includes degree of knowledge of
end customers and use of information technology in external relations.
Ninety one percent of DS firms report high, very high or excellent
knowledge of end customer profilewhile only 72% of NODS do so. Information
technology in external relations did not show any difference
among the two groups of firms.