How to Distribute to Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. With a 2020 population of 655,407, it is the largest city in Oklahoma and the United States’ 27th largest city. Oklahoma City is currently growing at a rate of 0.49% annually, and its population has increased by 13.00% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 579,999 in 2010. Spanning over 621 miles, Oklahoma City has a population density of 1,081 people per square mile.

Unlike many cities in the United States, the cost of living in Oklahoma is not too high for the average income. The average household income in Oklahoma City is $75,485, with a poverty rate of 16.75%. This has made it one of the attractive cities in the country to move to.

Oklahoma City is home to several colleges such as Langston University (Langston), Oklahoma State University–Oklahoma City, University of Central Oklahoma (Edmond), University of Oklahoma (Norman), University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, American Christian College and Seminary, DeVry University – Oklahoma City campus, Downtown College Consortium, Heartland Baptist Bible College, Hillsdale Free-Will Baptist College (Moore), and many others.

All these indicate that the City of Oklahoma is a place with very high potential for trade and business. And this is why many manufacturers have worked very hard to establish a foothold in that city.

A manufacturer can penetrate this city through distributors or go directly to the retailers. Or, the manufacturer can even handle the entire distribution process herself. All of these will be discussed subsequently.

To fully understand how to distribute to this city, it will help to look at how the distribution of products works to the areas that make up this city.

Distribution of Products to Downtown, Oklahoma

Downtown is the legal, financial, economic, nightlife, and entertainment center of the city.

Downtown consists of several urban districts that ring the Central Business District, including the retail-oriented A-Alley, the Arts District, the Bricktown Entertainment District, the Deep Deuce residential neighborhood, and the Flatiron District. Unofficial/new areas of downtown OKC include “Lower Bricktown”, MidTown urban neighborhood, SOSA (South of Saint Anthony’ hospital’), Westtown, Film Row urban district, Farmer’s Market, and the new Downtown South “Core-2-Shore” neighborhoods.

Distributing to Downtown, Oklahoma City, may seem tough considering the large retail outlets and complex settings, but this is why distributors are engaged by manufacturers.

Distributors take the stress off the necks of the manufacturer. It is the manufacturer’s job to produce; it is the distributor’s job to get the products into stores and retail outlets. Distributors have markets they have mapped out already. They know the right areas for certain types of products and know exactly how to penetrate these areas. This is made possible through the relationships they have forged over the years of doing business with retailers.

Thus, in getting your products to Downtown, you may find that distributors are more efficient to make it happen.

Distributing Products to Northwest Oklahoma

Northwest Oklahoma City is a diverse area filled with multicultural neighborhoods, restaurants, and shopping centers. Located 18 miles outside the city center, the area is a quiet reprieve from the expanse of OKC. Northwest Oklahoma blends the suburbs’ appeal with the peace of the rural expanse outside the city limits, providing residents with the best of both worlds.

You may be able to get your products into the shopping centers of Northwest Oklahoma if you go through retail associations. Retail associations have retailers as members. The advantage of these associations is that they are mostly geographically-based. Thus, if you’re looking for liquor stores in Northwest Oklahoma City, it is easy to reach them through retail associations, which are even for beverage and liquor retailers in that particular area.

Some of the city’s retail associations include Oklahoma Retail Merchants Association, Oklahoma Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association, and Oklahoma Grocers Association. Within these associations, you can network with retailers and pitch your products to them.

Distributing Products to Bricktown

Bricktown is an entertainment district just east of downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. It was formerly a major warehouse district. The navigable canal is one of the attractions of the city.

A manufacturer can employ either of the distribution methods mentioned earlier or take over the entire distribution herself. Now, this seems very daunting.

Taking full control of the entire distribution process is when the manufacturer handles everything – down to retail. This means that the retailer has her stores and shopping centers. This will take a lot of resources, time, and effort.

This method is highly beneficial as it brings the manufacturer closer to the consumer, and it helps the manufacturer know what the consumer wants. Tesla uses this method, and it has proven highly beneficial for the brand.

It must be noted that the distribution method to be employed depends on the type of product to be distributed and the resources available.

Things to Note When Distributing to Oklahoma City

University Communities

Oklahoma City is home to several universities. This means that there is a big and sustainable market over there. It also means that this market approach may be a little different from the mainstream market approach. Pitching your market to them may have to be quite different, and you should be able to appeal to their interests, needs, wants, fears, and/or aspirations.

Marketing

This is as important as the product itself. It is how you get the brand message out to the prospects. You want to tailor it to each subset of your prospect. Looking at the diversity in the Oklahoma community, you want to tailor your marketing to each group in a way that will get their attention.