marketing channel
marketing channel

Companies are always looking to make it easy for consumers to find the business online. However, they should also be looking to reach out to other potential customers who might require the same products or services. This is precisely why choosing the right marketing channels is important.

Depending on what the business does and what it’s trying to accomplish, the way it engages with its customers can greatly influence sales, retention, and brand awareness. A general rule of thumb is to use multiple channels; however, the exact number largely depends on the type of business.

The top priority for most eCommerce companies is to build an online store, and while it’s efficient to sell products with online checkout links, the consumers are going to trust the business a lot more when it has its own online store. As an added bonus, this also builds up the SEO for the business in question.

Having an online store also means being able to showcase products, acquire data that can help grow the business, and make all the payments secure. Furthermore, these days, setting up an online store is easier than ever and doesn’t require a lot of technical skills. The important thing to remember is to design it in a way that’s going to represent the company, including the business logo and use the color scheme, use the same language everywhere, and make it as easy as possible for the customers to find what they need and make a purchase.

Building a brand and communicating with the current and potential consumers is best done via social media platforms, where it’s easy to reach a big audience. Most customers already expect businesses to have a social media presence, which makes this channel essential for all businesses, regardless of their size.

To drive more engagement, businesses should consistently share posts on their preferred platforms but shouldn’t only promote their own products and the business itself. Instead, it’s a lot more useful to promote other information and articles that the consumers will find valuable and encourage them to engage with the content.

The best way to build trust with the target audience is to build upon trust in the company’s expertise, which is commonly done with blog posts. Providing educational and informative content is a great way to improve the company’s search rankings, and the content can also be promoted on the company’s social media profiles.

Businesses that are looking to connect with their consumers directly can do so via email. The timing, messaging and format is best controlled in an email, which is a channel that doesn’t depend on customers specifically looking for that information on search engines or on social media.

For businesses that are just starting out, this isn’t the most important channel, but it’s always a good idea to start collecting email addresses for the future when the business starts scaling up, and it’s time to send out email newsletters on a more regular basis.

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Ronn Torossian is the Founder & Chairman of 5W Public Relations, one of the largest independently owned PR firms in the United States. Since founding 5WPR in 2003, he has led the company's growth and vision, with the agency earning accolades including being named a Top 50 Global PR Agency by PRovoke Media, a top three NYC PR agency by O'Dwyers, one of Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces and being awarded multiple American Business Awards, including a Stevie Award for PR Agency of the Year. With over 25 years of experience crafting and executing powerful narratives, Torossian is one of America's most prolific and well-respected public relations executives. Throughout his career he has advised leading and high-growth businesses, organizations, leaders and boards across corporate, technology and consumer industries. Torossian is known as one of the country's foremost experts on crisis communications. He has lectured on crisis PR at Harvard Business School, appears regularly in the media and has authored two editions of his book, "For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations," which is an industry best-seller. Torossian's strategic, resourceful approach has been recognized with numerous awards including being named the Stevie American Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, the American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year, twice over, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist, a Top Crisis Communications Professional by Business Insider, Metropolitan Magazine's Most Influential New Yorker, and a recipient of Crain's New York Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Outside of 5W, Torossian serves as a business advisor to and investor in multiple early stage businesses across the media, B2B and B2C landscape. Torossian is the proud father of two daughters. He is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and a board member of multiple not for profit organizations.