When creating a company or an enterprise, it is important to take into account a great challenge, which is the channel sales strategy. This process is fundamental since the different options must be analysed for achieving the success of the brand.
The channel sales strategy is the contact between the customer and the company for the delivery of the product or service. There are different channel sales and in this article, we tell you all about them.
Summary
- Channel selling is a widely used technique to generate a route between the product and the end consumer.
- There are different types of channel selling, offline and online. The choice of the latter varies depending on the brand’s commercial strategy.
- With channel sales, you can boost your sales and achieve a more successful brand (1).
What you should know about channel sales
In order to choose the right channel sales strategy for your company, it is necessary to research it. We tell you all about the different means of channel sales and their strategy.
What are channel sales?
Channel sales is a marketing strategy for your product or service. That is, it is the link between what the company sells and the consumer. This depends on the type of business and the potential customer, the means by which he would buy this product.
There are different channel sales and these are divided into offline, face-to-face sales, or online, sales through some platforms. The choice of this channel selling strategy varies depending on what the company offers.
What are the best channel sales?
There is no best or worst channel selling. This is because the best channel selling is going to be the one that is most suitable for your company or venture. There are points to take into account when choosing this, such as budget, possibilities and long-term objectives.
Also, on the other hand, the target audience at which the brand is aimed is analysed. That is why it can be said that each company has its specific needs and thus can choose the best channel sale with respect to these.
Advantages of the channel sales model
As a marketing strategy, having a good channel selling is important so that your consumer can easily connect with your product or service. The advantages of this process can be very beneficial for your company.
That is, as a brand, having a good channel sales connection with your consumers can lead to brand growth. If there are more sales, there is more revenue and thus your brand becomes better known (2).
Advantages
- Variety of channel sales, at the brand’s discretion
- Generate more sales
- More brand visibility
- Can be less costly
- High efficiency
Disadvantages
- There is so much variety that it can be difficult to choose
- May fail in the first attempts
- Brand risk
- Lack of control
What is a channel partner?
A channel partner is a company or an individual in charge of promoting or selling the products or services they provide. This can be done through different channel sales methods. They can be affiliates, resellers or suppliers.
Channel partner selection cannot be done lightly. The company must evaluate the different financial objectives, the product being sold/service and the benefit of the partner.
What types of channel sales are there?
When choosing the most appropriate channel sales for your company, it is essential to know the variety of types that exist. This can be classified into two: offline channels, traditional sales and marketing, and online channels, sales through platforms.
Offline channel sales
Offline channel sales involve face-to-face and also other means such as the use of the telephone. It can be classified as follows:
1. Physical Point
Space where the commercial activity takes place, being one of the traditional channels involving:
- Physical store: Space for selling and buying products, such as a store or supermarket. It can be owned by the company or by another company.
- Franchising: Also a traditional channel sales model. This involves selling in a store with many branches. In this way, it is possible to extend the reach with further expansion.
- Distributors: connects the company, the seller and the buyer. It can be B2B (commercial interaction between two companies, “Business to business”) or B2C (interaction between the brand and the end consumer, “Business to consumer”).
2. Direct sales
This is a personal contact, door-to-door process. It avoids the commercial establishment, and resellers can have flexibility. But it must be well organized.
3. Telemarketing
Telemarketing, generating leads, or scheduling appointments. This involves a call centre generating communication with the customer, thus being more personalized. It can be by call, WhatsApp or SMS.
Online channel sales
Within this categorization, you can find different means of online channel sales, from which the company can choose to achieve more sales (3).
1. Marketplace
Marketplaces are virtual platforms, sites or applications where products and services are sold in exchange for a commission. For example, MercadoLibre, Amazon, or Google Shopping.
These platforms offer a variety of products, with transparency in your purchase. This is because there are so many products on offer that it can be difficult to buy. But in each one, you can see the evaluations that consumers leave, the questions to the seller and the product information.
2. E-commerce
E-commerce is a sales channel that works as an online store. Unlike marketplaces, these sites are official sales of products from a single company. There are brands that only have an online store, avoiding the costs of physical stores.
With e-commerce, the brand can ensure a sale of any of its products, since it is a single site with all of them, unlike marketplaces that have many brands.
3. Affiliate Program
This method of channel selling involves individuals or platforms that sell a third party’s products for a commission.
4. Google ADS
Google Ads is one of the most famous sales channels in digital media. This is mainly because Google is one of the largest online service companies in the world.
With Google ADS, companies or brands can advertise and sell to their ideal audience. It’s because with this method, the ads appear to users second their relevance. With this channel, sales can generate traffic to online stores, generating more awareness of your brand.
5. Google Shopping
Google Shopping is another way to generate channel sales. It shows products that are for sale online and are promoted by Google ADS. They appear on top of organic search and ads.
This is possible if your company has e-commerce, where products are sold and can be displayed as a carousel on Google.
6. Social Networking
There are countless social networks, which have become business tools and online sales channels. They can be a fundamental sales channel for certain brands. These are the most powerful social networks in the world of online sales.
On this platform, you can create company profiles, where you can follow the metrics and reports of when you promote a product.
WhatsApp Business
Whatsapp Business
Tool for small businesses, generating a communication channel with customers.
With this platform, you can create a company page where you can showcase what the company offers. It also has its own marketplace for buying and selling.
Tiktok
TikTok
This network is relatively new and is one of the most popular today. With this you can promote and reach a huge audience, generating more views of your page.
Communication platform. Many companies use it as a method of communication for certain advertisements.
This platform allows you to create a company profile showing the activities performed by the company. Besides looking for jobs, it is a way to give prestige to the brand that sells certain services or products.
It is a network that can be used to sell products with photographs.
How to create a channel sale?
After all the information provided on channel sales, you can now create your own. However, certain factors must first be taken into account when implementing a channel sales model. These are:
1. Analysis of the potential customer
First and foremost, research of the brand’s potential customers must be done. This way you look for the best sales channel. For example, if you want to sell to millennials, social networks are a great way to connect with them.
By doing this potential customer research, you can generate an important focus on the choice of channel selling. This is because in different sales methods there are different consumers and with this, you can make a more detailed segmentation.
2. Channel sales research
Make an investigation of all channel sales, in order to choose the one that is most profitable for the company, calculating the expenses and resources that you have. With the variety of channel sales that exist, depending on whether it is online or offline, it is important to make an analysis of these for your choice.
Many times you can start with a channel sales method, and then over time incorporate more as the company grows. Or in some cases, you can change methodologies to see which is the most convenient.
3. Scope and available resources
Evaluate channel sales in relation to your company, product or service being sold. Small companies that are just starting out can start with lower expenses, grow in the market and increase channel sales.
Conclusion
There are many ways to generate a larger reach for a company by selling products or services. These can be given in various ways, with the most appropriate choice of channel sales depending on the needs of it. Online channel sales, offline channel sales and the different ways to carry out this process were seen.
It is important to have good channel sales in order to have a larger reach to the number of consumers of the brand. In addition, by analysing the different sales methodologies, it is possible to find the most convenient for the brand. And you, what are you waiting for to start creating channel sales?
References
- Gustavo J. Vasquez. Distribution channels and consumer value. Ucema. 2009Source
- Joan Ribas de Pouplana, Patricia Romero Vega. Strategy to boost sales through direct channels. 2019.
Source - Luis Maria García Bobadilla. +Sales.
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