Marketing channels are a collection of people, organisations, and actions who work together in order to get products from the production stage to the consumption stage. This includes people, organizations and activities who make products and services available for consumers to use and enjoy.
There are four basic types of marketing channels for physical products:
- Direct Selling is the marketing and sale of products directly to consumers, without a retail outlet.
- Selling via intermediaries is when products are produced at the point-of-origin and sold by intermediaries downstream, such as agents and brokers, wholesalers, and retail stores.
- Dual Distribution is when manufacturers use multiple channels to sell their products to end-users. It could be that the manufacturer sells to consumers directly and also works with wholesalers or retailers who then sell to their customers via their own distribution network.
- Reverse Marketing is when products are returned from the customer to the manufacturer. Reverse marketing is often used in recycling and product recalls
Digital marketing campaigns are a type of direct sales campaign that uses many different channels to market to prospects and nurture them along the sales funnel. This helps to drive revenue growth and sales targets.
Why is marketing important?
When an organization is preparing to launch a product or service, it needs to define and develop the marketing mix to be used in order to promote the product. A marketing mix that is effective must include the four P’s: product, price and place.
The product is the first component of the marketing mix. A business needs to create a product which customers will want to buy because it meets their needs and has features they desire. It should be designed for a better customer experience, and differentiate itself from other brands by adding value.
Second, Pricing. The price of the product must be justified by its value. Pricing should be competitive in comparison to similar products on the market, while taking into account differentiating factors as well as the value prospective buyers may attach to them.
Understanding marketing channels is essential when it comes to understanding the final two elements of place and promotion.
To meet the third element of the marketing mix, Place an organization must know where their customers are searching for their products. They should then work to have their products available in these places. Customers of many technology companies will either buy their products online (direct selling) or through a retailer.
Promotion is the final component of the marketing mix. It involves identifying the best channels through which an organization can distribute messages about its product. Direct selling organizations are more likely to need promotion, since they do not rely on retailers or distributors for sales. Online-only organizations must determine which digital marketing channels offer the highest ROI.
Over time, the overall ROI of any marketing channel can tend to decrease as users tune out or ignore ads they are constantly exposed to. Organizations should not only identify the best channels to generate marketing ROI but also test and evaluate new channels, while using marketing automation in order to avoid repeating messages to the same customers.
Five Digital Marketing Channels to Promote Your Product
You are likely to be using the “direct-selling” marketing model if you sell digital products online. You don’t need to create a network of retailers and agents to connect your customers with your product if you can distribute it online. Instead, you should focus on promoting your products and driving sales using the right digital channels. You’ll find below some of the top digital marketing channels you should use for your next campaign.
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Websites & Blogs
Your company website is likely to be the primary distribution channel for any product or service you sell online. Your bottom-of the-funnel leads will use this website to ask for a product demo or buy directly. Your website can be used as a promotional tool, in addition to being a distribution channel. Marketing Automation can be used to customize landing page, sales copy, and more based on the origin of a visitor, their information, and if they are a part of a buyer persona that you’ve previously defined.
Search Engines
Search engines can be a very valuable tool for marketing your business. Search engine optimization is a marketing discipline that focuses on the implementation of techniques to improve your website’s ranking on search engine result pages ( SERPs). High search rankings can demonstrate your organization’s legitimacy and authority and generate Organic Traffic that has a substantial ROI.
Email Marketing
Email is the most effective marketing channel for communicating with prospects. 91% of American Internet users have email accounts. Email marketing can be automated to deliver content that is tailored to each prospect based on their interactions. Subscribers to your website can opt in to your mailing list. They may also fill out a form to submit an email.
Social Media
Social media can be a cost-effective channel for brands who want to remain in the minds of their prospective customers. By providing engaging and interesting content, it will help them stay top of mind. Social media allows for two-way communication between your brand, your prospects and you. You can engage in discussions about your niche to position yourself as an expert.
Content Marketing
Content marketing involves creating informative and engaging material that will help your customers solve problems, while establishing yourself as an expert. You can post this type of content on your website or blog. It can also be distributed via other channels, such as social sharing websites and social media. You can also promote your brand or product by using promotional videos that are marketed on platforms such as YouTube.
Direct Consulting helps you to target the right marketing channels
We are experts in developing the ideal customer profile and targeting them through digital channels, generating more leads and opportunities to your sales team. We combine closed loop marketing with advanced analytical techniques to determine the most effective marketing channels for your products, taking into account factors such as customer acquisition costs and lifetime value.
Our Customer Generating method optimizes marketing spend, targets the most profitable channels and ensures that our clients achieve their revenue targets, while increasing marketing effectiveness, every time.
