Define and describe at least one similarity and one difference between dual distribution and a strategic channel alliance.

Dual distribution occurs when a firm employs two or more different types of channels for the same product (e.g., GE sells its large appliances directly to home and apartment builders but uses retailers to sell them to consumers). Dual distribution is used for a multibrand strategy. A strategic channel alliance is when one firm's marketing channel is used to sell another firm's products. A similarity between the two terms is that firms use both to reach different market segments in a more cost-effective manner. A difference between the two is that for dual distribution, a single producer selects the intermediaries to reach its target market segments, whereas in a strategic channel alliance, one producer uses the marketing channel developed by another firm (sometimes a competitor in a product class) to reach its target market segments. Strategic alliances are popular in global marketing, where the creation of marketing channel relationships is expensive and time-consuming.