Benefits of Channel Marketing in Your Marketing Strategy

A large business, a small business, a mid-size one. They all seem different at the outset. At the same time, they have something in common. 

No matter what kind of business you are a part of, you all want to sell your products with successful marketing efforts. But sometimes, you don’t want to have to put forth a ton of effort to do the – you know – selling part. 

That doesn’t make you lazy or ineffective in your industry. Not at all, in fact. It makes you a wise business person who knows you could better spend your valuable time elsewhere. 

And it turns out that this sort of marketing is possible, and it’s not far out of reach. Yep, you heard it here first. It’s a matter of channel strategy. More so, it is a matter of channel marketing. And we are here, as always, to tell you how you can get there. 

What is Channel Marketing?

Channel marketing? What could that be? 

Don’t worry. It’s not too intimidating or hard to figure out. 

Channel marketing is a partner marketing strategy. You put it into effect when you team up with a third party who takes your products or services to market. It works for companies of all sizes. It surpasses the effectiveness of your old-fashioned, standard growth methods. 

Let’s say that you sell used cars. Keep in mind that this is a broad example. You can apply channel marketing to any sort of market development. That’s regardless of what industry you are a part of. 

So you sell used cars from a storefront. You use internal resources for typical product development strategy and market development strategy. To get your used cars to your customers, you use your brick-and-mortar location, website and sales reps. 

If you used channel marketing and multichannel communication methods, it would look a bit different. You would go to other private dealerships and resale companies to market (then sell) your used cars. Those other players would be your channel partners, and you would take a lot of stress out of the equation with still-high profit margins. 

What is a Channel Marketing Strategy?

A channel marketing strategy is how you put your channel marketing into actual effect. It is your plan to success, and you can understand better if we go through the basic steps to creating one. 

First, you have to pinpoint who your potential channel partners are. Conduct product and competitor analysis here and rely heavily on data and statistics, leaving no room for guesswork. 

Second, your channel marketing manager, trusted advisor, or even yourself have to pitch to them. How could they benefit from partnering up with you? Your needs have to fit the needs of your prospective retailer. 

Third, you have to both sign a contract that accounts for everything involved in the multichannel marketing plan. 

Fourth, you begin your channel marketing strategy – for real, this time. You start to put everything into place that you agreed upon with your partner. Be proactive, but address any ensuing problems as they arise. You can revisit the subject of your contract at the end of the laid-out timeframe, per your initial contract. 

Your channel marketing strategy is how you and your partner(s) work together to market and sell your products or services. 

Difference Between Channel Marketing and Marketing Channel

It might sound strange to you that channel marketing and your marketing channels are not the same things. But alas, they are not. 

Channel marketing is the approach you take to put your product or service in the line of sight of your prospects and customers. 

Your marketing channel, or distribution channels, are the route your product or service takes to get there. This is how your customers receive what you marketed and sold to them. 

For example, let’s go back to that used car dealership scenario. Your channel marketing here would be the platforms you may use (like Instagram or Facebook) to drive traffic to your site or dealership. 

And for your marketing channel, it would be the location (and the people who work there) you use to send out the product or service you marketed. 

Here are Some Benefits in Using Channel Marketing

We know you want to get right into the specifics of how channel marketing can elevate your business success and growth. We mean for you, in particular. 

That is why we have the following list of the top seven advantages of using this marketing technique. Take a look and then get in touch with us so we can bring you that success, directly. 

Increases Customer Engagement and Conversion Rates

With multichannel marketing or cross-channel marketing, it is more than pairing up with your partners. It also means that you market to your customers across many platforms so they have several ways to interact with you. Also, it means you are hanging out where they already are. 

When you do that, you increase customer engagement. That means higher conversion rates for quality leads. It gives them a streamlined way to work with you and your distribution partners. 

You should use many platforms to deliver your next marketing campaign. This approach gives you more access to more potential customers, yes. But it also shows each customer that you care about convenience for them. 

Guess how many consumers prefer to connect with brands via multiple channels? 72 percent. No kidding. That’s a lot. 

Not to mention that there is a 24 percent increase in ROI in multi-channel campaigns for B2C businesses. This is in stark contrast to B2C companies that use single-channel marketing. 

Reaches Users Across Mobile, Desktop, Email, and Social Media

The modern buyer is busy. They may have been in the past, too, but today they are really on the move. They have their own work to worry about, their own lives, and their own priorities. 

That does not mean they care any less about interacting with brands, though. They just have to do it across different devices now. This goes across various times and their own geographic locations. 

Channel marketing is compatible across mobile, desktop, email, and social media platforms. 

It also gives you the chance to use real-time location services. Then, you can optimize your campaigns to any number of your brand followers. 

Keeps You Ahead of Your Competition

Something else that is ever-present in the business world is competition. But the wonderful news is that your competition might not be taking advantage of this type of marketing. 

And you might find some of your competitors’ key customers hanging out on some platforms. Your competitors may not be using them to engage. 

So stake your claim. Get there first. Consumers connect across channels. It’s time that you did, too. 

Increases Customer Base

Of course, you have to identify what channels are the best fit for your business and its customers. 

But when you find those and optimize them via your overarching media plan, your customer base increases. Target them where they already are. And you will convert those leads or prospects into loyal customers – it’s foolproof. 

Lowers Customer Acquisition Costs

When you cut across multiple channels with your marketing strategy, you also lower your acquisition costs. 

It can cost a lot more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain one that already exists. But you do not have to worry so much about this when you market across several channels. 

Take a look at CMO by Adobe’s research if you don’t believe us. They say that 52 percent of multi-channel marketers almost always (or just always) stay within the scope of their financial target goals. 

Provides Data-Driven Strategy

Again, you need data to shape your channel-marketing strategy, like you need data for just about everything else. 

Data cuts out the scatter-brained aspect of advertising in your marketing campaign. It replaces it with the perfect content that you cater to the perfect people in the perfect places, at the perfect time. 

These types of campaigns focus on all the channels you have to pick from. And they weigh them against your customers’ digital stack so you know where to direct your marketing content. 

Builds Lasting Relationships

Of course, we had to save the best for last. 

What’s the point of running a business if you do not have lasting customer relationships to sustain it? 

Answer: there isn’t one. 

You don’t want to spend your time warding off pesky marketers and sales reps. It isn’t too shocking that your customers don’t, either. So when you reach them across the proper platforms, you erase that problem. 

This is the foundation for long-term relationships and therefore, long-term business success. 

Conclusion

You want business success for the long run; we get it. But “long-run” doesn’t mean “takes a long time to get there.” Nobody wants that. 

And you don’t have to have that. That’s where Selling Revolution comes in. 

Nice to meet you. We can get you growth that lasts but doesn’t take long to start working. Want us to increase your business leads? No problem. How about channel alignment? That’s our specialty. Better sales training and top talent recruitment that you can sustain? Sure thing. 

There is no better time to get started than right now. Book a call with our seasoned professionals at Selling Revolution today.