10 marketing channels that you can’t ignore

There are 129 marketing channels available to today’s marketers. They range from traditional mass-media channels through to direct, personalisable digital channels. I’ve scored each channel based on it’s utility and relative cost to provide this short list of the top ten channels that marketers need to consider.
- Email is one of the most versatile channels available to marketers. It is low cost, personalisable and allows for a direct response. Whether emails are used for service messages, marketing, receipts or project sign-off they can be used for promotional or positioning messages
- Microsites are again a versatile digital channel. When built correctly they can provide a point of focussed marketing and information for customers. I would also include within the microsite definition landing pages for lead capture.
- Surveys provide a means for not only understanding your customer, but also providing estimates, producing research led content marketing and finding insights on improving your business. Surveys also lend themselves to multiple means of physical and digital delivery.
- Recommend a friend. The favourite of the growth hacker. Convince new members to get further benefits by sharing links with their friends and social networks.
- SMS are heavily used in everyday life and provide a great way to reach customers or prospects instantly. This instant message has benefits for service messages, receipts, time sensitive offers and login authentication.
- Websites provide huge amounts of customer functionality to the customer. As a channel they can be used for sales, information, support and even delivery of goods. I’m amazed at how many companies still do a poor job of their website.
- Website via tablet/mobile. Strictly this shouldn’t be separate from the above element but my view is that the discipline of creating a responsive/mobile friendly website is still maturing.
- Presentations are somewhat overlooked as a channel despite the fact that in B2B sales we use them heavily for sales. Slideshare provides a great way to host, share and embed presentations to share with prospective customers. Similarly presentations can be delivered over video and webinars.
- Content marketing has emerged as the new king of marketing. The challenge for marketers emerges in pure volume of content available to prospects and customers. New smart ways of getting good content to the right prospects is needed.
- Catalogue. This may seem like an odd choice for the top ten. But here are some facts: It can be personalised (variable data printing is possible). It is direct response. It can be utilised for customer acquisition, conversion, engagement and retention. It can be delivered digitally as a website or app. With the right volumes a printed catalogue can also be very cost effective.
You can get hold of the complete list of marketing channels from this site or access the free limited version on Google Docs.