A key difference between consumer and business-to-business branding is the influence of selling channels, including sales reps, dealers and distributors. While many consumer products are also sold through a channel, the marketer generally reaches past the channel with branding messages, relegating the channel to the status of a local point of sale. By contrast, in many B-to-B markets, the local dealer or distributor really “owns” the end customer and can control access and communications to and from the customer.